ACC Premier Cup: Hong Kong maintain perfect start as Rath century sets platform for rain-affected win over UAE
- Opener scores 108 as Hong Kong recover from slow start to make 263 in their 50 overs
- UAE collapse from 104 for 2 to 117 for 6 moments before weather brings untimely halt to proceedings in Nepal
Hong Kong maintained their unbeaten start to the ACC Premier Cup in Nepal on Friday, as Anshuman Rath scored his side’s second century of the tournament in a rain-affected win over the United Arab Emirates.
Rath’s century, after UAE won the toss and put Hong Kong into bat, laid the foundation for a competitive total of 263 for eight, that at one stage seemed unlikely. UAE threatened to make a game of it, but lost four wickets for 13 runs to collapse to 117 for six before rain brought an untimely end to proceedings. Nizakat Khan’s side won by 67 runs on the Duckworth Lewis Method.
Victory leaves Hong Kong top of Group B on four points, while the hosts are also unbeaten in Group A after a relatively easy 84-run win over Oman.
The total Hong Kong managed in their 50 overs came despite a slow start, where Rath and Khan failed to score from the first 20 balls of the innings. The former finally got his side off the mark with a lofted drive over mid-on for four.
With the ball moving off the seam, neither batter looked entirely comfortable, and after 5.3 overs they had managed just 16 runs, all of them boundaries. The pair finally got a single with the next ball, as the UAE bowlers kept to a tight line and length.
Still, by the time Khan was out, caught behind off the bowling of Sanchit Sharma with the score on 35, he had found enough acceleration to make 22 from 29 deliveries.
