Dubai: Asia Cup hosts UAE’s hopes of securing a place in the six-nation event were shattered by Hong Kong after losing the final of the qualifiers by two wickets at the Kinrara Oval in Malaysia yesterday.
In a rain-curtailed match, Hong Kong put UAE in to bat after winning the toss. The UAE posted 176 for 9 in the allotted 24 overs and looked set to win after reducing Hong Kong to 147 for 7 in 19.3 overs. Some powerful hitting by Hong Kong’s tail-enders, especially Scott McKechnie (14) and Tanwir (15), ended UAE’s dreams of facing Asian giants India and Pakistan in Group A, especially in front of their home crowd.
Hong Kong will now play in the Asia Cup with their first match scheduled on September 15 against Pakistan and September 18 against India.
Speaking to Gulf News, UAE skipper Mustafa said: “It was an instance of being so close yet so far. Disappointing to lose to lose the final.”
The UAE had finished on top of the table in the Asia Cup Qualifier though they had lost to Hong Kong in the group stage too.
In the final, Chirag Suri and Ashfaq Ahmad put on a 54 runs for the first wicket before Suri got bowled to Tanwir Afzal for 11. In-form Mustafa lasted only eight balls before being bowled by Aizaz Khan for a duck. Khan then went on to dislodge the stumps of Rameez Shahzad for 2.
Shaiman Anwar and Ashfaq took the score to 123 through a 58-run partnership when Anwar fell for 22. Three balls later, Ashfaq, who batted brilliantly to score 79 runs off 59 balls with nine boundaries and six sixers fell. Mohammad Usman and Adnan Mufti by scoring 16 runs each guided the UAE to the challenging total.
Hong Kong chased the total through a 64-run opening partnership between Nizakat Mohammad (38) and Anshuman Rath (28). Mustafa provided the breakthrough when he bowled Mohammad while their star batsman Babar Hayat got out for just three to Amir Hayat. Meanwhile, Ahmad Raza ran out Kinchit Shah for a duck. When Raza bowled Rath for 28, Hong Kong slipped to 82 for 4.
Christopher Carter and Ehsan Khan fought hard and took Hong Kong to 135 for 5 when Shahzad’s brilliant effort ran out Carter for 33. Eleven runs later, Mustafa pulled off a spectacular diving catch to dismiss Khan for 29 runs off Naveed. When Naveed also took the wicket of Aizaz Khan for 10, it looked like the UAE’s match before McKechnie and Tanwir took the game away and won the match in 23.3 overs.
Scoreboard
UAE (maximum 24 overs)
A. Ahmed lbw b Ahmad 79
C. Suri b Afzal 11
R. Mustafa b Aizaz 0
R. Shahzad b Aizaz 2
S. Anwar c Hayat b Ahmad 22
M. Usman c Hayat b Aizaz 16
A. Mufti c McKechnie b Aizaz 16
M. Naveed c Shah b Aizaz 6
A. Hayat c Rath b Ahmad 7
Abdul Shakoor not out 7
Ahmad Raza not out 0
Extras (lb8, w2) 10
Total: (for nine wickets in 24 overs) 176
Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-55, 3-65, 4-123, 5-124, 6-154, 7-161, 8-161, 9-169.
Bowling: Tanwir Afzal 8-3-26-1, Ehsan Nawaz 5-1-3-1, Aizaz Khan 5-0-28-5, Ehsan Khan 3-0-55-0, Nadeem Ahmad 3-0-28-3.
Hong Kong
N. Khan b Mustafa 38
A. Rath b Raza 28
B. Hayat c Shakoor b Hayat 3
K.D. Shah run out 0
C. Carter run out 33
E. Khan c Mustafa b Naveed
A. Khan c Mufti b Naveed 10
S.S. McKechnie not out 14
T. Afzal c Shahzad b Anwar 15
E. Nawaz not out 1
Extras 8 (b1, lb5, w2) 8
Total (for eight wickets in 23.3 overs) 179
Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-67, 3-68, 4-82, 5-135, 6-146, 7-147, 8-176
Bowling: Mohammad Naveed 5-0-47-2, Amir Hayat 4.3-0-22-1, Ahmed Raza 5-0-38-1, Rohan Mustafa 5-0-32-1, Shaiman Anwar 4-0-34-1.
