Javed Omar's fine half century and some tidy bowling and fielding, earned Bangladesh a 116-run victory over Hong Kong in the opening match of the cricket Asia Cup cricket tournament in Colombo on Friday.
Batting first, Bangladesh posted 221 runs for 9 wickets in its 50 overs. Hong Kong never really got going and were bowled out for 105 runs in 45.2 overs.
Hong Kong captain Rahul Sharma, leading his side in its first-ever one-day international, won the toss and sent Bangladesh in to bat. Omar top scored for Bangladesh with a patient 68 off
94 balls. His innings included four fours and an 84-run partnership for the second wicket with skipper Habibul Bashar, who scored 32.
Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud contributed 26 and 22 runs respectively.
Off-spinner Ilyas Gul, with figures of 3 for 46, was the pick of Hong Kong bowlers.
Bangladesh paceman Mushfiqur Rahman struck in the fourth over of the Hong Kong innings, bowling opener Manoj Cheruparambil for a duck.
Hong Kong never got going after that and lost wickets at regular intervals. But for a partnership of only 29 between Sher Lama and Gul for the eighth wicket, they may not have even crossed the 100-run mark.
Tabarak Dar top scored for Hong Kong with 20 runs, while both Gul and Lama made 16.
Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak claimed three wickets for 17 runs in nine overs.
The victory was Bangladesh's fifth in 91 One-Day International appearances.
