Hong Kong narrowly miss out on 2024 T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier Semi Finals

BY IRA GORAWARA

KATHMANDU, NEP - Prevailing on a do-or-die stage is almost akin to a Herculean achievement.

The stakes are high, the expectations are at their pinnacle, and – in a sport like cricket – your nations’ dream is yours to animate.

I couldn’t muster a more realistic description of Hong Kong’s match against UAE in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers.

Promise teetered in favor of the men in red after their first victory over Kuwait – setting the tournament in motion as Martin Coetzee steered the ride with an 86-run display. But after a narrow defeat to Bahrain put Hong Kong’s qualification chances in jeopardy, its final lifeline rested in its UAE showdown in what was virtually a quarterfinal round.

So while the Hong Kong faithful longed for a momentous performance to keep their World Cup dreams alive, the players were simultaneously charged with a battle that could shape their destiny.

An early-morning start prompted Hong Kong’s captain Nizakat Khan to opt for a bowl-first declaration after winning the toss. Whether or not that decision was ideal is a question we cannot answer, but an explosive 13-run opening over was not part of captain Khan’s toss verdict.

UAE’s opening pair were showing signs of a destructive partnership, forcing N. Khan to make adjustments with the ball. But bringing in a spinner in just the third over – that of Ehsan Khan – only proved expensive for Hong Kong as Muhammad Waseem capitalized on slower deliveries with 22 runs in four balls.

Hong Kong managed to subdue what was progressing as a potential 250+ innings with the elimination of both opening batsmen. Yasim Murtaza was the catalyst for this breakthrough, as Khalid Shah and Waseem fell victim to his fuller deliveries. The bowling ace picked up another wicket in his subsequent two overs, finishing his stint with team-high figures of 4-0-14-3.

In the latter half of UAE’s innings, the undefeated squad posted at least one boundary an over before picking up the pace in the death overs to propel a 136-run total to 176 by the innings break.

The pressure perched on Hong Kong’s shoulders was only bolstered when a 8.85 run-per-over exhibition was required for the squad to maintain their 2024 World Cup hopes.

And when the opening duo of Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath got off to a promising start – despite the early ousting of Martin Coetzee – the stakes seemed to lift of Hong Kong’s back. But just as the two were inching closer to their required run rate, captain Khan fell to Ali Naseer, bringing in Babar Hayat.

Hayat – Hong Kong’s ‘run machine’ – entered the pitch but could barely open his account before Ali Naseer made the right-hand batsman his next prey just two balls later.

Aizaz Khan and Rath established Hong Kong’s most stable partnership of the innings in the latter half, all while incorporating crucial spurts including A. Khan’s back-to-back-to-back boundaries to retrieve momentum after losing two crucial wickets.

In similar fashion to Hong Kong’s recent contests, the dismissal of the in-form batsmen, Rath and A. Khan, precipitated the collapse of three more batsmen – one in each of the affair’s final three overs.

Victory inched further out of Hong Kong’s sights as Murtaza and Haroon Arshad were tasked with summoning up 29 runs in the final over. And when Naseer managed to run through Arshad as well, the pressure had permeated far too far up Hong Kong’s pipeline as it had suffered a 22-run defeat to UAE.

“We leaked too many runs in the powerplay,” captain Khan said. “We haven’t played to our best cricket so we know that we are going to accept this loss.”

Ultimately, it was just a 0.035 differential in the net run rate that allowed Bahrain – and not Hong Kong – to occupy the second position in Group B and ensure entrance to the semifinal of the qualifiers.

A unified Hong Kong squad will take their kits back home and shift their vision to whatever is on the horizon in the world of Associate Cricket.