T20 World Cup qualifiers: Bahrain survive scare to join UAE in semis as Hong Kong’s cricketers fall short
- United Arab Emirates and Bahrain each stand one victory from earning places in the 2024 tournament in West Indies and the US, after Hong Kong’s hopes end
- Expensive bowling and middle-order frailty contribute to Hong Kong’s defeat by UAE, while Bahrain progress despite losing to Kuwait
Hong Kong’s faltering bid to qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup came to a grinding halt in Nepal on Thursday.
Needing to beat the United Arab Emirates in their last Group B game to stand any chance of reaching the semi-finals, Nizakat Khan’s side again came up short, losing by 22 runs.
Chasing 177 for victory, a stand of 58 for the second wicket between Khan (25) and Anshy Rana (59) gave their side a solid base, but Babar Hayat again failed with the bat and wickets fell too regularly for Hong Kong to maintain any kind of momentum.
Yasim Murtaza was run out for eight on the final ball of the innings as Hong Kong finished on 154 for eight.
That aside, Murtaza was one of the bright points in an otherwise disappointing Hong Kong performance that again raised questions about the team’s bowling and batting.
The slow left-arm spinner took three wickets for 14 runs in his four overs, including trapping UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem leg-before for 46, putting an end to an opening six-over onslaught that saw Hong Kong’s attack hammered for 61 runs.
Murtaza also picked up the wickets of Khalid Shah, out for six, and Asif Khan, for four, and with Ehsan Khan bowling Vriitya Aravind for 19, UAE slipped to 89 for four.
Unfortunately for his team, Ehsan Khan’s sole success came at a cost of 41 runs, and his teammates were just as expensive, as Basil Hameed (51) and Alishan Sharafu (34) put on 76 for the fifth wicket.
Hameed’s half-century came off just 29 balls, included three sixes and left Hong Kong chasing a far larger score than they might have expected when he was the last wicket to fall, as UAE made 176 for six.
In response, Hong Kong lost Martin Coetzee in the second over, but Nizakat Khan and Rath kept their side in the hunt, and even when the former fell with the score on 67 in the 10th over, there was still all to play for.
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But Hayat departed three balls later for four, and although Aizaz Khan’s 26 added some excitement in the middle order, the lack of support meant his side were always behind the required run rate.
Victory left UAE top of Group B and facing a semi-final against Nepal, who finished second in Group A. Bahrain, who beat Hong Kong on Tuesday, will take on Oman, despite losing their final group game to Kuwait. The two finalists will qualify for next year’s T20 World Cup.
