T20 World Cup qualifier: Mariko Hill steers Hong Kong to opening victory over top-ranked Nepal
- The all rounder scores an unbeaten 42 as Hong Kong successfully chase down Nepal’s 104 with two overs to spare
- Hong Kong captain Kary Chan is staying calm ahead of their second match against hosts UAE on Tuesday in Dubai
Mariko Hill scored an unbeaten 42 as Hong Kong’s women got their T20 World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start in Dubai on Monday with a six-wicket win over Nepal.
Chasing Nepal’s 104 for three to win their first game of the Asian regional qualifier, Hong Kong lost four wickets in reaching the target with two overs to spare, with the winning run a wide from Sabnam Rai that Hill made a half-hearted attempt to hit.
Victory against the top-ranked team at the tournament gives Kary Chan’s side plenty of momentum heading into Tuesday, when they face hosts the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s exciting, but I’ve told the girls that we need to calm down because we have four more games to go,” Chan said. “We can keep the positive feeling and just do our best for the remaining games.”
The rather anticlimactic nature of the ending stood in stark contrast to the run chase that came before, when for most of the innings the game looked like going down to the wire.
