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Hong Kong's Babar Hayat raises his bat in delight after hitting the winning runs against Afghanistan. Photos: ICC

World Cup beckons – Hong Kong beat Afghanistan to qualify for ICC Twenty20 cricket finals

Babar Hayat scores 15 in final over as Tanwir Afzal's men successfully chase 162 in Dublin, Ireland

Babar Hayat scored 15 runs off four balls as Hong Kong won a last-ball thriller against Afghanistan on Tuesday to qualify for the 2016 ICC Twenty20 World Cup finals.

In a daring and brave chase of 162 and needing 16 off the last over with three wickets down, Hayat kept his cool as two wickets fell in the over, hitting two runs off the final delivery to give Hong Kong victory by five wickets in Dublin, Ireland.

Hong Kong just beat Afghanistan and qualify for the next t20 World Cup. Congrats Charlie Burke and all the players. FANTASTIC
Dermot Reeve

Hong Kong-born Dermot Reeve, the city’s most famous cricketing product who played for England at test level and in the 1996 50-over World Cup, congratulated coach Charlie Burke and the players on Facebook minutes after their victory.

“Hong Kong just beat Afghanistan and qualify for the next t20 World Cup. Congrats Charlie Burke and all the players. FANTASTIC,” wrote Reeve.

Skipper Tanwir Afzal, who was run out on the penultimate ball delivered by spinner Mohammad Nabi, said the players were focused on beating the highly rated Afghans after their win on Sunday over Namibia gave them a chance at qualifying for the T20 finals in India.

“We played well from the first over till the end. We always believed we could chase down 162. We gave everything in this game,” said Afzal.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat, racking up runs at a rapid pace. Hong Kong  captured key wickets at crucials stages of the innings but their opponents eventually reached a formidable 161 for seven off their 20 overs.

Man-of-the-match Nawroz Mangal scored 53, while Haseeb Amjad took three for 28. 

Hong Kong needed to score at a fraction more than eight runs an over and, for the most part, they were behind the rate despite some determined hitting.

Openers Irfan Ahmed, who hit 98 against Namibia, and Jamie Atkinson put on 28 before Irfan fell in the fifth over after being caught at mid-on.

Atkinson and Nizakat Khan then took the score to 79 before the latter was out for 26. At that stage, it looked like a tall order for Hong Kong but Mark Chapman blasted 40 from 25 balls to reignite the chase.

We played well from the first over till the end. We always believed we could chase down 162. We gave everything in this game
Tanwir Afzal, Hong Kong captain

Chapman, however, was out first ball in the final over but Hayat then hit a four and a six. The next ball was wide and then Hayat lost strike after scoring three. With two balls to go and two runs needed, Afzal was run out but, crucially, the batsmen had crossed and Hayat was able to take strike. Hayat hit the last ball to long on and comfortably ran back for two to complete a historic victory.

“It showed that we have matured a lot,and we knew that with wickets in hand we were always in the game,” said Chapman.

“To get to back-to-back World T20s was the goal and we're there and over the moon. You couldn't have asked for more.

“Afghanistan have been one of the top performing associate sides in the past few years so we knew they were going to be a tough challenge and we had to put in a great performance today to get the win.

“There's not one single thing you can put it down to. But the way we've conducted ourselves in the last two games to get the two wins has been outstanding. What [coach] Charlie got out of us was just the hunger to win.”

Hong Kong will compete in the group stage at the Twenty20 World Cup finals in India, along with seven other countries. The top two teams advance to the Super 10 stage where they join the top eight teams in the ICC Championship rankings.

 

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