UAE enter third straight ACC Men's Premier Cup final after dominating Hong Kong
Haider Ali’s 6-for powers UAE into third straight ACC Premier Cup final
Dubai: The growth of United Arab Emirates continues in cricket as the side enter the finals of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup for the third straight edition. The national side dominated the semifinals as Hong Kong only managed to set up a 70-run target.
Left-arm spinner Haider Ali took over the game courtesy of astonishing 6-14 figures. He also recorded three maiden overs in the game. Hong Kong’s openers Zeeshan Ali and Kalhan Challu had a decent start to the innings before Ali managed to break the partnership.
The fall of wickets continued as the openers along with Kinchit Shah remained the only batsmen to record double figure runs in the innings. Adeeb Usmani, UAE’s wicketkeeper, also joined the bowling group and got two wickets to his name.
Hong Kong survived until the 31st over while the defending champions finished the game within 12 overs. UAE did lose three wickets, but the low target didn’t harm the winning side.
After reaching the final of ACC Men’s Premier Cup, they now wait for the result of Nepal vs Oman, both of whom have been a strong team. Nepal have only lost one game in the tournament unlike the undefeated UAE.
With Oman, they will possibly face the neighboring country once again after defeating them in their last group stage game. A final between UAE and Oman will also be a replay of the 2024 Men’s Premier Cup, which the Emirati country won by 55 runs.
Meanwhile a game against Nepal will repeat the 2023 final, which the UAE lost by 7 wickets in T20 format. Now back to the 50-over game, the defending champions will wait for which one of their former opponents will they face again.
The ACC Men’s Premier final will take place on 12 September in Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fans in UAE can watch their country compete for free as the match will be streamed on Asia Cricket Council’s YouTube channel.
