UAE and Oman bolster Asia Cup chances

Hong Kong’s hopes of qualifying for the main round of the Asia Cup T20 were extinguished by M Shahzad as UAE beat them by six wickets to move to the top of the points table with one game to play.

No matter how disappointing this tournament has been for the Hong Kong team, but they have got one-star player getting a huge amount of runs, B Hayat, who scored a century in the first match followed by a half century against UAE and he would be the player to watch out for in today’s match.

At one stage it looked like Hong Kong were comfortably placed in pursuit of 179 against Afghanistan, but Mohammad Nabi instigated a collapse which saw Tanwir Afzal’s men lose eight wickets for 33 runs, eventually slipping to a 66-run defeat.

Number three batsman Hayat, however, gave Hong Kong a fighting chance in his 91-minute knock featuring seven sixes and nine fours but HK still fell five runs short.

Bowling first, there was a temporary relief in Oman camp in the second over when Rohan Mustafa was run-out after failing to slide his bat into the crease. They now face Hong Kong next on Monday. Hong Kong, of course, are already out of the tournament.

Oman were still alive going into the last match of the qualifying group, but had to chase the target in 13.5 overs after opting to bowl. For Hong Kong, Rath, who made 41 from 38 balls, was the most effective off the lot.

UAE lost three quick wickets but a splendid cameo from Muhammad Usman (46) boosted the score to 172 for six in their quota of 20 overs. In reply, Oman were restricted to 101 for 8.

UAE’s bowlers had a field day and it had everything to do with how their batsmen had set things up. Aamir Kaleem didn’t hesitate for a second and was rather excited at getting the wicket. The elegant left-hander inverted his usual method as he embarked on an assault in the final overs which brought him 46 in 22 balls. From UAE, Mohammad Naveed (3 for 14) and Javed (2 for 21) were the highest wicket-takers. Amidst all the carnage, opener Zeeshan Maqsood played a lone hand and attempted to form partnerships with the lower order.