Asia Cup Qualifiers 2022, Match 6: Hong Kong qualify for main round with clinical 8-wicket win over UAE

Hong Kong qualified for the main round of Asia Cup 2022 after beating the UAE by eight wickets in the sixth match of the qualifiers in Al Amerat on Wednesday (August 24). They won all three matches to confirm their berth in the main event. Hong Kong will now join India and Pakistan in Group A.

Hong Kong dominated the UAE from start to finish in their last qualifying match. They bowled first after winning the toss and restricted the opposition to 147. In reply, openers Nizakat Khan (39 off 39) and Yasim Murtaza (58 off 43) added 85 inside 11 overs. Babar Hayat also chipped in with an unbeaten 38 off 26 to see the team home.

Skipper Nizakat began the chase in confident fashion, slapping Junaid Siddique for two fours in the first over. The boundaries kept flowing with ease for the Hong Kong openers as UAE bowlers failed to build any sort of pressure.

Murtaza struck consecutive fours off Zawar Farid in the fifth over. Hong Kong crossed 50 before the end of the sixth over. The pounding continued as Murtaza slammed Siddique for three fours in the next over.

The brilliant stand was broken when Basil Hameed managed to end Nizakat’s resistance. Murtaza, though, did not slow down. He took on leggie Karthik Meiyappan and hit him for six in the 12th over.

After a quiet over from Sultan Ahmed that produced only two runs, Hayat smashed a maximum off Meiyappan to ensure the asking rate remained under control.

Murtaza then brought up a much-deserved fifty in style, dispatching Ahmed for a boundary. It was Siddique who eventually dismissed Murtaza at the start of the 17th over. However, Hayat ensured there was no hiccup for Hong Kong. He sealed the team’s Asia Cup 2022 qualification in emphatic style, clobbering Farid for a maximum.

Click here to view the teams which are at the top of the Asia Cup points table.

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Ehsan, Ayush shine as Hong Kong restrict UAE to 147

Ehsan Khan (4/20), Ayush Shukla (3/30) and Aizaz Khan (2/8) came up with impressive bowling performances as Hong Kong bowled out UAE for 147 in 19.3 overs. UAE captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan top-scored for his team with 49 off 44, while Farid chipped in with a swift 41 off 27. However, there were no significant contributions from the rest of the batters.

UAE got off to a terrible start as Hong Kong off-spinner Ehsan had Chirag Suri stumped for four in the first over. Muhammad Waseem began in impressive fashion, smacking Haroon Arshad for a six, four, and six in the second over.

However, young medium pacer Shukla struck twice in the next over to hurt UAE’s progress. He trapped the dangerous Waseem lbw for 18 and dismissed Vriitya Aravind (two) in the same mode.

Shukla had the UAE in further trouble when he also sent back Aryan Lakra for 11. The UAE lost half of their side for 77 when Murtaza accounted for Hameed (nine).

Farid provided some momentum to the innings even as skipper Rizwan held one end up. The former slammed Mohammad Ghazanfar for a six and four off consecutive deliveries in the 15th over.

In the next over bowled by Arshad, he helped himself to two more big hits. His fine knock ended when he fell to Ehsan at the start of the 19th over. The bowler also dismissed Kashif Daud (one) and Rizwan off consecutive deliveries to put Hong Kong firmly on top. Aizaz too helped himself to two wickets in the last over as UAE were all out with three balls left.