T20 World Cup qualifiers: Hong Kong suffer bruising Bahrain defeat, must beat UAE to keep 2024 hopes alive
- Hong Kong must beat UAE on Thursday and hope for a favour from Kuwait to advance to the semi-finals in Nepal
- Top order collapse leaves Nizakat Khan’s side 20 runs short of target in Group B clash
Hong Kong’s T20 World Cup qualification ambitions took a severe hit on Tuesday, after a shock 20-run defeat at the hands of Bahrain.
Nizakat Khan’s team paid a heavy price for a top-order collapse and a bowling performance where they conceded 21 extras, as their opponents defended 146 to win in Nepal.
Strongly fancied to serve up a repeat showing of their straightforward opening-match victory over Kuwait, victory would have set up a battle with the UAE for top in Group B.
Now however, Hong Kong will be fighting for their World Cup lives against the group favourites, with only the top two teams advancing to Friday’s semi-finals. The two finalists in Nepal qualify for next year’s global showpiece in the West Indies and USA.
But the road to mixing it with the world’s best just got tougher for Hong Kong, who, ranked 21st in the world, came unstuck against a side ranked seven places below them.
After winning the toss, Khan opted to bowl first, despite beating Kuwait, and UAE in the closing warm-up match, after batting first.
