Hong Kong have made their way into the Asia Cup 2018 main event after registering a terrific win in the rain-affected qualifier finals against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Kuala Lumpur. Chasing a target of 176 runs from 24 overs (D/L method), Hong Kong pulled out a 2-wicket victory to emerge as the sixth team to participate in the grand Asian cricket tournament.
With this victory, Hong Kong, who lost their ODI status earlier this year, have entered into the main tournament where they will join India and Pakistan in Group A. They will face Pakistan on September 16 while India will start their Asia Cup campaign against them on September 18.
Earlier today, UAE lost the toss and were asked to bat first. The game was reduced to 24 overs per side after an unanticipated rain break in the 16th over of the first innings. With the help of opener Ashfaq Ahmed’s 79-run knock and few more supportive innings from the middle order batters, UAE managed to put a competitive total of 176 runs on the board.
In return, Hong Kong had a decent start as the opening pair of Nizakat Khan (38) and skipper Anshuman Rath (28) added a massive 64 runs for the first wicket. Later, they went on to lose four wickets for 18 runs but Ehsan Khan and Christopher Carter put up a 53-run stand for the fifth wicket which helped the lower order batsmen to take the game home with 3 balls to spare.
Among the Hong Kong bowlers, Aizaz Khan bagged a five-wicket haul, striking early with the important wicket of Rohan Mustafa. On the other hand, Nadeem Ahmed scalped 3 wickets after leaking 28 overs in 3 overs.
Brief Scores:
UAE 176/9 in 24 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 79; Aizaz Khan 5-28)
lost to
Hong Kong 179/8 in 23.3 overs (Nizakat Khan 38, Christopher Carter 33; Mohammad Naveed 2-47) by 2 wickets by DLS method.