116/9 (20.0)
CR : 5.80
140/6 (20.0)
CR : 7.00
Afghanistan A won by 24 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Qais Ahmad
3/182(3)
Over 20
Hong Kong 116/9
Mohammad Waheed1(1)
Hassan Khan Mohammad1(1)
Farmanullah Safi1-19(4.0)
AFG-A won by 24 runs
6:27 PM IST, 3:57 PM Local Time: Hong Kong are done and dusted! They lose their final league match of the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament by 24 runs to Afghanistan A. The Hong Kong side end the tournament without a single win while Afghanistan A has moved onto the second spot in the Group A points table. However, whether Afghanistan A will qualify for the semifinals or not depends on the result of the match between Sri Lanka A and Bangladesh A, which will be held later in the day.
Electing to field first, Hong Kong bowlers dominated the Afghanistan A batters for most of the innings. The pacers used their cutters very well on the slow surface while the spinners kept their lines tight. The side didn't allow Afghan batters to free their arms. The Afghan side ended up with 140/6. The top scorer was Mohammad Ishaq, who scored 38 off 29 balls.
Hong Kong seamer Hassan Khan Mohammad picked up 3/30 while his new ball partner Mohammad Waheed 2/31. Skipper and left-arm spinner Yasim Murtaza kept things very tight and gave just 16 runs in his four overs.
In the second innings, Hong Kong lost the first wicket early but their innings recovered as experienced pros Babar Hayat and Anshuman Rath took the responsibility. The duo stitched a 57-run stand for the second wicket. However, when everything looked good for them, the side lost three wickets in the 12th over, bowled by leggie Qais Ahmad. From that moment, Afghanistan A smelled victory and bowled slower balls consistently to prevent Hong Kong batters from scoring freely. In the end, the required run-rate kept creeping up and Hong Kong batters started losing their wickets while trying to score boundaries. They ended up with a score of 116/9.
Qais Ahmad picked up 3/18 while Faridoon Dawoodzai and Bilal Sami took two wickets apiece. Notably, AM Ghazanfar and Farmanullah picked one wicket each but gave only 15 runs and 19 runs, respectively, in their four overs.
Despite winning this game, Afghanistan A is still not assured of a berth in the semi-final stage. They will pray for Bangladesh A to defeat Sri Lanka A in the final league match of the tournament.
Electing to field first, Hong Kong bowlers dominated the Afghanistan A batters for most of the innings. The pacers used their cutters very well on the slow surface while the spinners kept their lines tight. The side didn't allow Afghan batters to free their arms. The Afghan side ended up with 140/6. The top scorer was Mohammad Ishaq, who scored 38 off 29 balls.
Hong Kong seamer Hassan Khan Mohammad picked up 3/30 while his new ball partner Mohammad Waheed 2/31. Skipper and left-arm spinner Yasim Murtaza kept things very tight and gave just 16 runs in his four overs.
In the second innings, Hong Kong lost the first wicket early but their innings recovered as experienced pros Babar Hayat and Anshuman Rath took the responsibility. The duo stitched a 57-run stand for the second wicket. However, when everything looked good for them, the side lost three wickets in the 12th over, bowled by leggie Qais Ahmad. From that moment, Afghanistan A smelled victory and bowled slower balls consistently to prevent Hong Kong batters from scoring freely. In the end, the required run-rate kept creeping up and Hong Kong batters started losing their wickets while trying to score boundaries. They ended up with a score of 116/9.
Qais Ahmad picked up 3/18 while Faridoon Dawoodzai and Bilal Sami took two wickets apiece. Notably, AM Ghazanfar and Farmanullah picked one wicket each but gave only 15 runs and 19 runs, respectively, in their four overs.
Despite winning this game, Afghanistan A is still not assured of a berth in the semi-final stage. They will pray for Bangladesh A to defeat Sri Lanka A in the final league match of the tournament.
Time for the post-match presentation!
Player of the Match: Qais Ahmad
Qais Ahmad (POTM): "Thanks to the Almighty! He made it all happen. It was surely a turning point when I took three wickets. It was the turning point.
I play tough cricket around the globe. I listen to my captain, but I have gained a lot of experience playing in the franchise league.
I have gained a lot of experience by playing league cricket, so I try to share it with the juniors in the team. I am always open to a conversation whenever someone asks me anything."
(As translated by Sediqullah Atal)
I play tough cricket around the globe. I listen to my captain, but I have gained a lot of experience playing in the franchise league.
I have gained a lot of experience by playing league cricket, so I try to share it with the juniors in the team. I am always open to a conversation whenever someone asks me anything."
(As translated by Sediqullah Atal)
Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong Captain): "Credit goes to our bowlers. Two new young bowlers played today and they bowled very well.
I think losing three wickets in Qais Ahmad's over during the chase was the turning point. We lost the momentum from that moment.
Mohammad Waheed did really well with the ball and don't forget Hassan Khan's spell. The way Hassan bowled the 20th over was brilliant. Also, our fielding was very good today.
The way our think tank is working, you will see improvement in our side in the near future and Hong Kong cricket doing wonders."
I think losing three wickets in Qais Ahmad's over during the chase was the turning point. We lost the momentum from that moment.
Mohammad Waheed did really well with the ball and don't forget Hassan Khan's spell. The way Hassan bowled the 20th over was brilliant. Also, our fielding was very good today.
The way our think tank is working, you will see improvement in our side in the near future and Hong Kong cricket doing wonders."
Darwish Rasooli (Afghanistan A Captain): "First of all, we are happy to end up on the win. We wanted to chase the target, but we still have hope from the last game.
Yes, we were struggling from the start. Our top order failed to deliver, and so did the middle order. Wickets kept tumbling, but we will learn from here.
If you look at our squad, it is very strong. But our batters are not in good form. However, our bowlers have done well to bring us this far.
We will go back to the hotel and watch the evening game from there. We will play for Bangladesh A (Chuckles)."
(As translated by Sediqullah Atal)
Yes, we were struggling from the start. Our top order failed to deliver, and so did the middle order. Wickets kept tumbling, but we will learn from here.
If you look at our squad, it is very strong. But our batters are not in good form. However, our bowlers have done well to bring us this far.
We will go back to the hotel and watch the evening game from there. We will play for Bangladesh A (Chuckles)."
(As translated by Sediqullah Atal)
That's it from our live coverage of this game. This is Mohammad Anab signing off on behalf of my colleagues Arjun Bhalla and Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay tuned to Crickxo for our live coverage of the second match of the day between Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka A that will potentially decide the semi-final line-ups. Till then, cheers!