The Asia Cup 2022 Qualifier being played at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground is heading for an exciting finish, with three of the four teams currently tied with two points each.
The United Arab Emirates begun the tournament as the firm contenders, given their superiority in the ICC Men’s T20I Team rankings, wherein they are currently placed 12th, well ahead of the other three participants in the competition: Singapore (23rd), Hong Kong (26th) and Kuwait (27th).
However, UAE were handed a narrow one-wicket defeat by Kuwait in a thrilling last-over finish on August 1, and though they redeemed themselves with a 47-run win over Singapore to climb to the top of the points table, it’s all nicely poised with each of UAE, Kuwait and Hong Kong having secured two points each at the halfway stage of the competition.
Hong Kong started off with an eight-run win over Singapore in the opening game on August 20. They were down at 8/2 midway through the third over after being put in to bat before Kinchit Shah (34 off 32) and opener Yasim Murtaza (26 off 28) steadied the innings. Haroon Arshad’s unbeaten 27* off 14, amidst a cluster of wickets at the back end, helped them finish 148/9.
Four of Singapore’s top-six got off to starts in the run-chase, but wickets at regular intervals and the mounting rate added to the pressure. Singapore needed 20 off the last two overs, but Ehsan Khan and Arshad conceded just 11 between them, the former returning 3/20 in a Player of the Match performance.
The second game between the UAE and Kuwait too, went all the way down to the wire. Chirag Suri (88 off 61) led UAE’s charge after being put in, adding stands worth 78 and 81 for the first two wickets with Muhammad Wasim and wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind respectively. Suri struck nine fours and two sixes before being dismissed in the penultimate over, as UAE finished 173/5.
Ravija Sandaruwan and Meet Bhavsar added 53 in 6.2 overs to set it up in the chase, but Kuwait soon stumbled to 111/6 by the 14th over, needing 63 off the final six. Mohammad Aslam (19 off 11) and Edson Silva (25 off 14) delivered crucial blows at the back end, and the final-wicket pair of Yasin Patel and Mohamed Shafeeq added unbeaten 16 off 12 to guide Kuwait to a win with a ball to spare.
UAE bounced back strongly in their next outing – against Singapore on Monday – registering a comprehensive 47-run win which bolstered their net run-rate to a strong +1.045. Wasim struck 58 off 34 with three fours and five sixes, and Basil Hameed scored 38 off 28 to guide UAE to a first-innings total of 160/8.
Singapore opener Aritra Dutta was the lone batter to cross 16, scoring 42 off 29, in an innings that folded out for 113 in 18.3 overs. Right-arm quick Junaid Siddique and leg-spinner Karthik Meiyappan bagged three wickets each.
Each of the four teams plays the other three once, and the team topping the points table will join India and Pakistan in Group A in the tournament major, beginning August 27.
Asia Cup Qualifier 2022 table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | No result | Points | NRR |
| UAE | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1.045 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.400 |
| Kuwait | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0.274 |
| Singapore | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.375 |
In the fourth game being played on Tuesday, Kuwait have set Hong Kong a victory target of 152. The winner will move to the top of the points table.
