Hong Kong snatch Emerging Teams Asia Cup spot from Nepal

By Cricketing Country | Posted Posted Apr 22, 2024

Hong Kong secured a tense victory over Nepal in the third-place playoff of the ACC Men�s Premier Cup in a high-stake match at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman on Saturday.

The hard-fought four-wicket victory means Hong Kong sealed their spot in the ACC Men�s Emerging Teams Asia Cup. UAE and Oman have already secured their spot in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup after they reached the final.

Chasing a challenging 140-run target, Anshuman Rath remained unbeaten on 65 off 50 deliveries carrying the bat for the Hong Kong victory. His innings featured four boundaries and two sixes.

Babar Hayat contributed 26 crucial runs to the chase to give a solid boost in Hong Kong chase.

Lalit Rajbanshi had to do a difficult task for Nepal, defending eight runs in the final over. However, Hong Kong’s Nasrulla Rana shattered their hopes by scoring the required runs in just three deliveries.

Sompal Kami impressed with figures of 3-33 in four overs for Nepal and Dipendra Singh Airee took two wickets.

Earlier Nepal, who had opted to bat first, suffered a disastrous start as opener Kushal Bhurtel was dismissed for a duck for the third consecutive time, setting a challenging task for the rest of the batters.

Nepal were in trouble at 98-8 but Dipendra stayed cool under pressure, scoring 44 runs off 29 balls with four boundaries and three sixes.

Ayush Shukla shined with the ball, taking three wickets for just 17 runs in his three overs. Ehsan Khan, Yasim Murtaza, and Ateeq Iqbal also chipped in with a wicket each for Hong Kong.