Asian Games 2026: Hong Kong, China take on Malaysia in cricket clash
In the second match of the 2026 Asian Games men's T20I cricket competition, Hong Kong, China face Malaysia at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan; during the game Malaysia were chasing in the second innings, despite Hong Kong being tipped as favourites beforehand.
Background
The second match of the 2026 Asian Games men's cricket tournament pits Hong Kong, China against Malaysia at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan. Together with Oman, the two sides make up Group B of the associate-nations competition. The fixture followed immediately after the tournament's opening match between hosts Japan and Afghanistan, according to India Fantasy.
History and predictions
The two teams had met 20 times before this game. Per India Fantasy, Malaysia hold the overall edge with 11 wins to Hong Kong's 9, and Malaysia also won three of the last five head-to-head meetings against Hong Kong's two. Despite this record, the outlet gave Hong Kong, China a 62% win probability against Malaysia's 38% ahead of the match, citing Hong Kong's recent exposure in larger tournaments such as the Asia Cup. In their last five T20Is overall, Hong Kong won twice while Malaysia won only once.
Match progress
According to India Today's live coverage, Malaysia were batting second in the chase and had reached 5 runs without loss after 0.4 overs. They still needed 77 runs from the remaining 116 balls, a required rate of 3.98 per over. Captain Syed Aziz and Muhammad Haziq Aiman were at the crease.
Squads
Hong Kong, China's named squad, as listed by India Today, included Babar Hayat, Anshy Rath, captain Yasim Murtaza, Shiv Mathur, Nizakat Khan, Anas Khan, Nasrulla Rana, wicketkeeper Shahid Wasif, Hassan Khan Mohammad, Mohammad Ghazanfar and Ehsan Khan. Malaysia's squad featured Muhamad Syahadat, Muhammad Amir, Virandeep Singh, captain Syed Aziz, wicketkeeper Ainool Hafizs, Muhammad Haziq Aiman, Sharvin Muniandy, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Wafiq, Pavandeep Singh and Vijay Unni.
Notably, India Fantasy's pre-match prediction had named a different Malaysian top order, including players Aslam Khan and Rahim Khan, who do not appear in the official squad published by India Today — indicating the actual line-up differed from pre-match expectations.
