Race for final Asia Cup 2022 berth reaches thrilling climax

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL

The last spot at Asia Cup 2022 will be decided on the final day of the Qualifier in Oman, with three teams still in the race to play India and Pakistan in the tournament proper.

Hong Kong brushed aside a plucky Kuwait to move top of the table, and will advance as the top team from the Qualifier group if they account for UAE on Wednesday night.

Asia Cup 2022 Qualifier Table

Team	Matches	Wins	Losses	Ties	No Results	Points	NRR
Hong Kong	2	2	0	0	0	4	0.716
UAE	2	1	1	0	0	2	1.045
Kuwait	2	1	1	0	0	2	-0.421
Singapore	2	0	2	0	0	0	-1.375

Babar Hayat was back to his brutal best with the bat, making an unbeaten 53 from 30 balls to ensure a comfortable chase.

Yasim Murtaza (46 off 33) and skipper Nizakat Khan (50 off 43) at the top of the order set up Hong Kong’s bid to run down Kuwait’s 151/9, with Murtaza’s 2/11 (4) earlier also making him the pick of the bowlers.

While out of contention for the spot after their two defeats to begin the campaign, Singapore can still cause havoc at the tournament by overcoming Kuwait.

How Hong Kong, UAE and Kuwait can claim the final Asia Cup spot

Hong Kong
1st, four points (two wins)
NRR: 0.716
What they need to do: Beat UAE

Hong Kong have matters in their own hands, with a win over UAE enough to top the group. A defeat would put the teams level on four points, though Nizakat's side would most likely lose out to the Emiratis due to an inferior net run rate.

The side opened their account with a cool defence of 148 against Singapore largely thanks to Ehsan Khan's 3/20, before their eight-wicket win over Kuwait to maintain their perfect record.

Hong Kong are yet to beat UAE in an official T20I, though their last meeting was back in October 2019 at the T20 World Cup Qualifier.

UAE
2nd, two points (one win)
NRR: 1.045
What they need to do: Monitor early fixture, and beat Hong Kong

Despite a shock defeat early in the tournament to Kuwait, their crushing win over Singapore gave their net run rate a huge boost, and will likely be the winner of the tie-breaker to progress, assuming they beat Hong Kong.

UAE also have the benefit of playing the later fixture, able to calculate the margin of victory needed should Kuwait beat Singapore in thumping fashion.

Kuwait
3rd, one point (one win)
NRR: -0.421
What they need to do: Win big, and hope UAE win by a small margin

Mohammed Aslam and the Kuwaiti coaching team will be running several equations to work out what they need from their meeting with Singapore.

A win of at least 78 runs or a successful chase in around 11 overs would put their net run rate higher than UAE’s 1.045, though a win would have to be even more emphatic to account for a UAE win and likely boosted figure.

Singapore
4th, zero points (no wins)
NRR: -1.375
Eliminated

Singapore may be out of the race, though Amjad Mahboob’s side could still play a part in deciding the Qualifier winner.

A win over Kuwait would eliminate their opponents, making the final match between Hong Kong and UAE a de facto final.

After an opening day defeat to Hong Kong, their hopes of qualifying were dashed when they crumbled against UAE, falling to 113 all out in pursuit of UAE's 160/8.

The side have struggled for runs in the absence of former team-mate Tim David, who is tipped to be called up to Australia's T20 World Cup squad.