Asia Cup 2022: Hong Kong defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 8 wickets on Wednesday and advanced to the main round of the tournament.
Hong Kong advance to Asia Cup 2022, join India and Pakistan in Group A. Courtesy: ACC
HIGHLIGHTS
- Hong Kong defeated UAE in their last match
- Hong Kong won all 3 of their matches in the Asia Cup Qualifier
- Hong Kong’s first match in Asia Cup is against India
Hong Kong, captained by Nizakat Khan, on Wednesday, August 24, advanced to the Asia Cup 2022. They defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by eight wickets at Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) in Al Amerat and booked their berth in the main round.
Hong Kong have joined Rohit Sharma’s India and Babar Azam’s Pakistan in Group A of the Asia Cup. Their first match is against India on Wednesday, August 31 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Then they will face Pakistan on September 2 in Sharjah.
Hong Kong were simply unstoppable in the Asia Cup Qualifier after they won all three of their matches. They had an almighty scare against Amjad Mahboob’s Singapore in their opening match, but defeated them by eight runs.
Thereafter, Nizakat’s men beat Kuwait by eight wickets to make themselves a strong contender to qualify for the main tournament. However, Kuwait’s six-wicket win over Singapore pushed Hong Kong to second in the points table.
The match against the UAE was a must-win affair for them. Had the UAE defeated them, Kuwait would have gone through. However, a classy half-century from Yasim Murtuza and Babar Hayat’s timely 26-ball 38* took them over the line.
Hong Kong chased down 148 with one over to spare. Skipper Nizakat also played a handy 39-run knock at a run-a-ball. Earlier, off-spinner Ehsan Khan picked up four wickets for 24 runs and helped Hong Kong restrict the UAE to 147 in 19.3 overs.
Ayush Shukla and Aizaz Khan picked up three and two wickets respectively. CP Rizwan and Zawar Farid scored 49 and 41 respectively, but their efforts went in vain.
— ENDS —