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Asia Cup Qualifier 2018: Hong Kong to take on UAE in final

UAE and Hong Kong will contest for a berth in the Asia Cup 2018.

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United Arab Emirates (UAE) will take on Hong Kong progressed to the final of the Asia Cup Qualifiers to secure a berth in the main tournament.
 
Hong Kong saw off Nepal in a low-scoring encounter winning by three wickets. United Arab Emirates beat Oman as they sealed a 13-run victory.

The results meant UAE finished atop the table on eight points, with Hong Kong second, ahead of Oman on net run rate after finishing level on seven points.

The day had started with Oman on seven points, UAE on six, and Hong Kong on five. There was only one way Oman could have been eliminated, and that was precisely what happened: Hong Kong beat Nepal to gain two points; UAE beat Oman to get their two points; and Hong Kong (+1.530) finished with a net run rate better than Oman’s +0.583.

Oman suffer first defeat

Captain Rohan Mustafa scored a 104-ball 71 as UAE, after being asked to bat, posted 208/8. 

The importance of Mustafa’s knock was evident in the fact that the next highest score in the innings was the 24 scored by Ashfaq Ahmed, the opener. The Omanis, undefeated in the tournament so far, did another fantastic job as no UAE partnership made it past 30. 

Mustafa followed his 71 with figures of 10-1-31-2 as Oman were restricted to 195 only. 

Oman began their chase well, with Aqib Ilyas smashing a 43-ball 45 to provide the initial impetus. At one point Oman were 61 for 1 in the 14th over, but they lost track soon, and were reduced to 107 for 5. However, Khawar Ali (20), Ajay Lalcheta (22), Mohammad Nadeem (23) and Naseem Khushi (27) helped keep Oman in the hunt.

The wickets kept tumbling, though, with all of Mohammad Naveed, Amir Hayat and Mustafa picking up two wickets each. It eventually proved the difference as they fell agonisingly short.

Hong Kong keep hopes alive

Captain Anshuman Rath was the star for Hong Kong as he scored 52 runs to help them chase the tricky target.

Sandeep Lamichhane (10-2-27-5) almost put Nepal back in the match after they had scored only 92 while batting. 

In the other encounter, Singapore held off Malaysia for an 29-run victory to get their first and only win of the tournament. Despite that, they finished at the bottom of the table, just below Malaysia.

At the Asia Cup, the winners of the qualifiers will take on India and Pakistan in the group stage – Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are in the other group – with their first fixture lined up against Pakistan on 16 September

Brief scores

Nepal 95 in 37.5 overs (Aarif Sheikh 18; Ehsan Khan 4 for 15) lost to Hong Kong 96 for 7 in 32.3 overs (Anshuman Rath 52; Sandeep Lamichhane 5 for 27) by 3 wickets with 105 balls to spare.

UAE 208 for 8 in 50 overs (Rohan Mustafa 71; Zeeshan Maqsood 2 for 21) beat Oman 195 in 47.2 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45; Rohan Mustafa 2 for 31) by 13 runs.

Singapore 276 for 9 in 50 overs (Anish Paraam 100; Syrazul Idrus 3 for 51) beat Malaysia 247 in 49.3 overs (Shafiq Sharif 93, Ahmed Faiz 59; Amjad Mahboob 5 for 59) by 29 runs.

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