Win more than enough for Hong Kong at ACC Trophy

But a big victory could help them avoid facing Afghanistan in semi-finals.

Hong Kong, in red, shocked Kuwait at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

ABU DHABI // Nepal and Hong Kong will face off for a place in the semi-finals of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Trophy tomorrow.

The UAE, meanwhile, who have played all their games and are top of Group B, must wait to see if they will still be in that position after tomorrow's match.

If either Nepal or Hong Kong win by a big enough margin, it could demote the UAE to second place and therefore a tougher semi-final match against top-ranked Afghanistan, the champions.

The UAE won three matches in a row after a shock defeat to Nepal in their opening game.

Nepal then surprisingly lost to Kuwait and Hong Kong went down to the UAE, leaving all three teams with one defeat each.

"It is like a final for us," Jason Atkinson, the Hong Kong captain, said of the Nepal showdown. "Going in to this game, we are not looking for anything than a win. It would be good to play in the semi-finals."

Pubudu Dassanayake, the Nepal coach, shared that sentiment but he also has an eye on the run-rate in the hope of avoiding a meeting with Afghanistan.

"Our priority of course is to win first but if there is a chance to go on top of the group we certainly would try to get there," he said.

The semi-finalists will qualify for an ACC "Emerging Countries" tournament to be held in Singapore in June and July next year.

The competition will also involve the Under 23 national teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

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