Hong Kong make history to give perfect send-off for coach Charlie Burke
Team qualify for their first major ICC world championship after beating Papua New Guinea
Hong Kong recorded the biggest win in their history, qualifying for their first major ICC world championship by beating Papua New Guinea by 29 runs in the make-or-break match at the World Twenty20 qualifiers in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
They will have to play another qualifying tournament against the likes of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in March before earning the right to play against the big guns like India, Australia and England, but that hardly mattered for stand-in skipper Waqas Barkat and his men who pulled off a heroic win defending a meagre total of 138.
"It means a lot to us to qualify for an ICC World tournament. This is the first Hong Kong team to ever accomplish this feat and we are proud to have achieved that goal," said Barkat.
Man of the match Babar Hayat was central to Hong Kong's fightback from a dismal 19 for four to reach 137 for nine. With Tanwir Afzal, Haseeb Amjad and Irfan Ahmed all bowling miserly, Hong Kong dismissed PNG for 108.
This is the first Hong Kong team to ever accomplish this feat and we are proud
"I'm so proud of the guys for the way they went out and did the business," said departing Hong Kong coach Charlie Burke. "We were knocked down and the guys were gutted after the loss to Nepal and it was hard to pick them up but they came back and showed plenty of heart and courage."