Irfan Ahmed smashed 98, the highest score of the tournament so far, and Nadeem Ahmed took 5 for 12, the best figures of the tournament so far, as Hong Kong defeated Namibia by 83 runs at Clontarf in Group A.

Facing only 55 deliveries, Ahmed struck nine fours and four sixes as Hong Kong ran up 197-8 - the second-highest team total of the tournament - as the Namibian bowlers toiled at Castle Avenue.

He shared an opening partnership of 56 (in 31 balls) with keeper-batsman Jamie Atkinson, who himself blasted 28 from just 18 deliveries with one four and three sixes.

Nizakat Khan (20 off 16 balls) and Mark Chapman (14 off 8) then provided ample support as Ahmed piled on the runs before falling to Gerrie Snyman with the score on 178.

In spite of this onslaught, Snyman returned the remarkable figures of 4 for 30 from his four overs of off-spin, while JJ Smit (4-0-28-1) and Sarel Burger (4-0-32-1) were both reasonably economical in the context.

With the luxury of defending 197, Haseem Amjad almost killed the match in the second over of the Namibian innings. First he had Snyman caught for 12 by Anshuman Rath and then, next ball, he dismissed Stephen Baard, caught by Tanwir Afzal for 10.

Shortly afterwards Raymond van Schoor was caught by Nadeem Ahmed off the bowling of Afzal for 7, and when JP Kotze went in the seventh over, Namibia were reeling at 55-4.

Craig Williams and Sarel Burger may then have taken the score to 101-4 in the eleventh over, but it was asking too much for the Namibans to continue at such a rate.

Thus when Williams fell to the returning Afzal for 27 (the knock included three sixes), Nicolaas Scholtz and JJ Smit followed within an over, both dismissed by Nadeem Ahmed, and at 102-7 the game was over as a contest and the Namibians were eventually dismissed for 114 in the sixteenth over.

Complementing Nadeem Ahmed's record haul, Tanwir Afzal took 2-39 and Hasseb Amjad 2-22.

This massive 84-run victory, coupled with Papua New Guinea's defeat to the USA, has vaulted Hong Kong into second place in Group A, pushed Namibia down into third, and given Ireland first place and with it automatic qualification for the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup.