Asia Cup qualifiers 2018: Hong Kong beat UAE by 2 wickets in the finals to qualify for Asia Cup main draw
Hong Kong defeated United Arab Emirates by 2 wickets in the finals of Asia Cup qualifiers played at Kinara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. It was a thrilling match as both teams fought well but Hong Kong held their nerves to emerge victorious.
Anushman Rath, the skipper of Hong Kong, won the toss and decided to field first. Ashfaq Ahmed and Chirag Suri got the team off to a steady start adding 54 runs for the first wicket in 12.1 overs. Hong Kong bowlers took 3 successive wickets to send UAE on the backfoot.
UAE were 65 for 3 when rain arrived. After the rain break, the match was reduced to 24 overs per side. Ashfaq Ahmed was brilliant with his power hitting and made 79 off 51 balls. Shaiman Anwar made a quick 22 off 14 balls, Muhammad Usman and Adnan Mufti made 16 each respectively.
For Hong Kong, Aizaz Khan picked wickets at regular intervals and finished with the figures of 5 for 28. Nadeem Ahmed took 3 for 28 in 3 overs. UAE finished with 176 for 9 in 24 overs.
Chasing a revised target of 179 to win, Hong Kong openers Nizakat Khan and Anushman Rath gave the team a flying start. The duo added 64 runs for the first wicket in 6.1 overs.
The UAE bowlers took 3 quick wickets and threatened to derail the chase. However, C Carter and Ehsan Khan added 53 runs for the 5th wicket and stabilized the innings. Despite losing wickets, Tanwir Afzal played a cameo knock of 15 off 12 balls to seal the match in Hong Kong's favor. Aizaz Khan also made quick fire 10 off 7 balls.
SS McKechnie remained not out on 14 off 11 balls. For UAE, Mohammad Naveed took 2 wickets while, Amir Hayat, Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, and Shaiman Anwar took 1 wicket each.
Hong Kong played 6 matches in the Asia Cup qualifier tournament: winning 4 and losing 1. 1 match did not yield any result.
Hong Kong won the match by 2 wickets with 3 balls to spare. With this win, Hong Kong will feature in Asia Cup main draw along with powerhouses India and Pakistan.
Hong Kong will take on Pakistan in their first match on 16th September. They will take on India on 18th September.
Hong Kong 179 for 8 in 23.3 overs ( Nizakat Khan 38, C Carter 33, Ehsan Khan 29, Mohammad Naveed 2/47) beat
UAE 176 for 9 in 24 overs ( Asfhaq Ahmed 79, Shaiman Anwar 22, Aizaz Khan 5/28, Nadeem Ahmed 3/28) by 2 wickets.