KATHMANDU, April 2: Afghanistan entered the final of ACC T20 Cup, defeating Hong Kong by seven wickets at the TU cricket ground in Kirtipur, on Tuesday.
Inviting Hong Kong to bat first, Afghanistan bundled out the opponent team for a meager 109 in 19.0 over and, in reply, made 112/3 in 17.1 overs. For the winning team, Najibullah Zadran topscored with 37 not out, while Fazal Rahman made 23. [break]
Likewise, Karim Sadiq chipped in with 14, Mohammad Nasim 15 and Mohammad Nabi remained not out on 10. For the losing side, KC Shah took two wickets and Nadim Ahmed claimed one.
Earlier, Hong Kong had to settle for a small total after Afghanistan’s Hamza Hotak rattled the Hong Kong top order, taking the first three wickets. Hotak was adjudged man of the match.
For the losing side, Waqas Barkat was the top scorer with 17. Skipper JJ Atkinson and Aizaz Khan made 15 runs each, B Hayat 14, and Anshuman Rath 10. Besides no other batsmen could make significant contributions, with 12 runs coming as extras.
Apart from Hotak, Samiullah Shenwari took two wickets, while Mohamad Nabi and Aftab Alam claimed one wicket apiece. Two Hong Kong batsmen were out.
In the group-state round, Hong Kong had defeated Nepal, while Afghanistan was stunned by the UAE. Host Nepal is playing the UAE in the other seminal of the tournament that will begin at 1 pm later today.
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