Hong Kong qualifies for Asia Cup 2022, will join India and Pakistan in Group A: Hong Kong has finally become the sixth team to qualify for the upcoming fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup as they defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by eight wickets last night.
Opted to field first against UAE in the final qualifying stage in Oman, Hong Kong successfully restricted UAE to a score of 147. UAE couldn’t play its complete quota of 20 overs and set up 147 runs as a target. With a clear plan, Hong Kong started their innings and chased down the total with one over to spare.
Veteran player Ehsan Khan remained the pick of the game as he scalped four wickets by leaking 24 runs. For his excellent bowling performance, he was also adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match.’
Notably, Hong Kong stayed undefeated in the tournament to join the top five teams in the Asia Cup 2022. In the first match, Hong Kong vanquished Singapore and crushed Kuwait in the second encounter. While in the third, United Arab Emirates became Hong Kong’s third target.
Following the match, Nizakat Khan, Hong Kong skipper thanked the cricket board for all the support they extended.
“I have no words to describe how I feel. I would like to thank Hong Cricket for all their support,” said Nizakat Khan. “Our process was the same, we knew we had to win all three games to qualify for Asia Cup and that is what we did. We took it game by game and the boys fought back really well. This is a big tournament to showcase our talent, and this is a great opportunity for everyone on this squad.”
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Hong Kong will now join the likes of India and Pakistan in the Group A of the Asia Cup 2022.
| Group A | Group B |
| India | Bangladesh |
| Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| Hong Kong | Afghanistan |
The Asia Cup 2022 is slated to begin on 27th August with a Group B fixture. Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the tournament opener in the Dubai International Stadium. The most-anticipated India vs Pakistan clash will be held on August 28 in the same stadium.
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