Hong Kong defeats the UAE in a matchup that puts them in Group A of the 2022 Asia Cup qualifying competition

Asia Cup 2022: With less than two days until the start of what promises to be an exciting tournament, the Asia Cup has added a sixth team to join India and Pakistan in Group A. The main event will begin on August 27, 2022, with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan facing off in the opener. In Group A, India and Pakistan are joined by Hong Kong, which remained unbeaten throughout the qualifiers and will now rub shoulders with the big boys of international cricket. The Asia Cup, which was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, was shifted to the UAE due to logistical issues caused by the island nation’s financial and economic crisis.

“The boys have overcome injuries to get here. We’re all very excited for the tournament”. ⁰
Hong Kong 🇭🇰 skipper, Nizakat Khan is confident about his team ahead of Asia Cup 🏆 2022. ⁰#HKvUAE #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupQualifiers #Qualifiers #GetReadyForEpic pic.twitter.com/SYXNtNKQ3U

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) August 24, 2022

On Thursday, August 24, 2022, Hong Kong faced UAE with one goal in mind: to advance to the group stage and compete against the best in the world. Hong Kong won the toss and invited UAE to bat first, as they did in their previous match against Kuwait. UAE openers Muhammad Wasim and Chirag Suri wanted to lay a solid foundation for their team, but Suri was dismissed by Ehsan Khan while batting on 4 runs. Muhammad Waseem also failed to make an impact after being trapped LBW by Ayush Shukla, who also dismissed UAE wicketkeeper-batsman Vriitya Aravind in the same manner. With UAE trailing 25-3, they needed something or someone to pull them out and put them in a good position, and their captain did just that. Chundangapoyil Rizwan hit four boundaries and scored 49 off 44 deliveries. Rizwan made certain that he kept one end together and the scoreboard ticking. Following on from Rizwan’s exploits, Zawar Farid scored a quickfire 41 off 27 deliveries, propelling UAE’s scoring rate to 147 runs.

Muhammad Waseem also failed to make an impact after being trapped LBW by Ayush Shukla, who also dismissed UAE wicketkeeper-batsman Vriitya Aravind in the same manner. With UAE trailing 25-3, they needed something or someone to pull them out and put them in a good position, and their captain did just that. Chundangapoyil Rizwan hit four boundaries and scored 49 off 44 deliveries. Rizwan made certain that he kept one end together and the scoreboard ticking. Following on from Rizwan’s exploits, Zawar Farid scored a quickfire 41 off 27 deliveries, propelling UAE’s scoring rate to 147 runs.

Hong Kong 🇭🇰 celebrate their entrance into the Asia Cup 🏆 the right way 👊⁰#HKvUAE #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupQualifiers #Qualifiers #GetReadyForEpic pic.twitter.com/W120jVHGge

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) August 24, 2022

Team Hong Kong was focused on the goal and the Asia Cup group stage qualification. As Hog Kong’s openers, Nizakhat Khan and Yasim Murtaza, walked in, they made sure to give their team a good start, making the team’s job of chasing the target easier. Khan had a strike rate of 100 and scored 39 points from the same number of deliveries. Yasim Murtaza, on the other hand, played more aggressively and scored 58 runs off 43 deliveries. They stitched an 85-run partnership for the first wicket after UAE had already lost their cause. When Babar Hayat came in, he wasted no time, scoring 38 off 26 deliveries as Hong Kong easily won the match by 8 wickets.

What an exciting round of qualifiers!
A series of exceptional performances from Hong Kong take them to Asia Cup 🏆 2022 🏏 #HKvUAE #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupQualifiers #Qualifiers #GetReadyForEpic pic.twitter.com/4SqjtDiEI8

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) August 24, 2022

Team Hong Kong will now compete in Group A alongside India and Pakistan. They will face India in their first match on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

Teams

United Arab Emirates XI: Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind(w), Chundangapoyil Rizwan(c), Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Karthik Meiyappan, Sultan Ahmed, Kashif Daud, Junaid Siddique

Hong Kong XI: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan(c), Babar Hayat, Aizaz Khan, Kinchit Shah, Scott McKechnie(w), Zeeshan Ali, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Haroon Arshad, Ayush Shukla