Asia Cup 2022 Hong Kong vs UAE: Hong Kong becomes a new neighbor in Group A which includes India and Pakistan after it successfully beaten UAE on Thursday. The match was held as part of the Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers level at Al Amerat Cricket Ground Oman Cricket (Ministry Turf 1) in Oman.

The win made the team join the last slot left to play in the 2022 Asia Cup which will commence on August 27. Hong Kong played its best against UAE with the former chasing down the target of 148 only to register its third consecutive successive win.

It was a must-win match during Thursday’s battle as Kuwait has set its race very tight with a good Net Run Rate. Despite its low NRR when compared to Kuwait, Hong Kong cleared its qualifier round by winning all three matches and securing 6 points.

Hong Kong won the toss and decided to bowl. Despite UAE’s good batting line-up, Hong Kong overtook the game ensuring good discipline in its bowling from the beginning.

 

UAE batted first and struggled to give good start as the team lost three early wickets. Ehsan Khan was the pick of the bowlers as he bagged 4 wickets for 24 runs. Captain CP Rizwan top-scored with 49 while Zarwar Farid scored 27-ball 41.

HK’s skipper Nizakat Khan and opener Yazim Murtaza had given a quick start in the chase powering the team to chase down the target at ease. Nizakat took to pavilion at 39 where his contribution recorded with Yazim set Hong Kong’s highest-ever T20I opening partnership (85) for the team.

After Nizakat and Yasim dismissed, Babar Hayat and Kinchit Shah completed the game with 6 balls to spare. Yasi Murtaza slammed 43-ball 58 while Hayat remained unbeaten on 38 off 26 balls.

The win made the Team Hong Kong to feature alongside India and Pakistan in Group A. The team will reach UAE to become a part of Asia Cup 2022. Its is going to play its first match against India on August 31 in Dubai, followed by Pakistan in Sharjah on September 2.

Hong Kong is going to appear for the fourth time in the Asia Cup after 2004, 2008 and 2018. However it is going to be first time in the T20I format in this series.

Asia Cup 2022 Hong Kong vs UAE:
Hong Kong Squad: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan(c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie(w), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ayush Shukla, Wajid Shah, Aftab Hussain, Dhananjay Rao, Mohammad Waheed, Ahan Trivedi, Ateeq Iqbal