Pavandeep, Amir silence Hong Kong in Malaysia's comprehensive Group B victory

Pavandeep's brother Virandeep, in the company of Syahadat, sealed Malaysia's win with eight overs to spare

Malaysia 84 for 2 (Syahadat 36*, Virandeep 32*, Rana 2-23) beat Hong Kong 81 for 9 (Mathur 29, Pavandeep 3-11, Amir 3-12) by eight wickets

The left-arm spin pair of Pavandeep Singh and Muhammad Amir put a stranglehold on the Hong Kong batters in their Group B match at the Asian Games men's cricket competition, handing Malaysia a comfortable eight-wicket victory.

An unbeaten 70-run partnership between Muhamad Syahadat and Virandeep Singh sealed the chase of 82 with eight overs to spare.RelatedAll you need to know about the Asian Games men's cricket competition

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Hong Kong made a poor start after experienced batters Anshy Rath and Babar Hayat fell for ducks. Things went from bad to worse in the sixth over, when Pavandeep took three wickets in six balls, with Hong Kong captain Yasim Murtaza and wicketkeeper Shahid Wasif also dismissed for zero. With four of their top six batters not troubling the scorers, Hong Kong limped to 81 for 9 in 20 overs.

Malaysia lost both openers to Hong Kong bowler Nasrullah Rana in the second over, but Virandeep - Pavandeep's brother - joined Syahadat to ensure there were no further hiccups. The pair hit five fours and four sixes between them, wrapping up the game with eight overs to spare and giving Malaysia a significant net-run-rate boost that could matter in the race for quarter-final qualification.