Hong Kong Defeats Qatar in Seventh Match

The third-place play-off match between Hong Kong and Qatar took place at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok. Despite winning the toss and opting to field first, Qatar narrowly missed the target set by Hong Kong by just 1 run.

Hong Kong posted a competitive total of 188 runs in 20 overs, losing 6 wickets, while their opponents managed 187 runs in 20 overs, losing 5 wickets. Zeeshan Ali and Anshuman Rath opened the innings for Hong Kong, putting together a 25-run partnership. Anshuman stood out as the best performer, scoring 97 runs off 60 balls, hitting 10 fours and 3 sixes. He was dismissed LBW by Ikramullah Khan. Nizakat Khan scored 27 runs from 26 deliveries.

Lower-order batters Barkat and Nasrulla Rana remained not out during the innings but made little contributions, scoring 5 runs off 3 balls and 1 run off 3 balls, respectively. Shahid Wasif, batting at number six, was dismissed via run-out by Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Shahzaib Jamil.

Muhammad Jabir claimed two wickets, conceding 29 runs in 4 overs with an economy rate of 7.20. Bipin Kumar, Ikramullah Khan, and Mohammed Irshad picked up one wicket each, while Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Arumugaganesh Nagarajan failed to take a wicket.

Qatar used only seven batters to chase down the target. Captain Mohammad Ikramullah Khan spearheaded the innings with 55 runs off 35 balls, while opener Arumugaganesh Nagarajan struck 28 runs off 37 balls.

For Hong Kong, Ayush Shukla led the bowling attack but went wicketless in his 4 overs. Ateeq, Nasrulla Rana, and Ehsan Khan picked up one wicket each. Captain Yasim Murtaza claimed the final two wickets, with his last dismissal being wicketkeeper Shahzaib, who scored 44 runs off 20 balls. He was dismissed late in the innings during the 19.4th over.