UAE vs Hong Kong: Hong Kong To Join Asia Cup 2022 Qualifiers Group

Hong Kong defeated UAE in the final Asia Cup 2022 qualifier match on 24th August to join Group A along with India and Pakistan.

In a dramatic encounter on Wednesday, Hong Kong overcame UAE by 8 wickets to advance to the group round of the Asia Cup in 2022. 

They finished first on the standings and went undefeated in the Asia Cup qualifications. 

Now that all six competitors have been qualified for the continental competition, Hong Kong will compete in group A alongside Pakistan and India.

Hong Kong’s Nizakat Khan needed to defeat UAE in order to advance to the group stage despite earlier victories over teams like Singapore and Kuwait. Additionally, there were no glitches as they obtained a convincing victory to prolong their presence in Dubai.

In the other qualifier earlier that day, Kuwait overcame Singapore by six wickets, but they needed to win by a significant margin to ruin the celebration. 

However, Hong Kong ultimately defeated the UAE team, who had won the right to host the Asia Cup in 2022 after Sri Lanka had forfeited it due to its ongoing economic difficulties.

So the group stage is set, with Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka already confirmed for group B and India, Pakistan, and Hong Kong set to compete in group A.

At Asia Cup 2022, two teams from each group will advance to the Super 4, where all four teams will play one another once in a round-robin format. 

The top two teams following the Super 4 stage’s conclusion will advance to the Asia Cup final.

On Saturday, August 27, Sri Lanka versus Afghanistan will play, with the championship game taking place on September 11.

Nizakat’s men won the toss for the game between Hong Kong and the UAE and decided to bowl first. 

UAE were bowled out as the hosts scored 147 runs in 19.3 overs thanks to the contributions of captain CP Rizwan (49 off 44) and Zawar Farid (41 off 27).

Rizwan’s team was kept in check by Ehsan Khan’s four-wicket haul, but Hong Kong had more left in the tank and finished off the job with 6 balls to spare.

Hong Kong put on an outstanding display, capped off by Babar Hayat’s unbroken 38-run effort. The opening batsmen Nizakat (39 off 39) and Yasim Murtaza (58 off 43) established the tone early.