Hong Kong crash to 125-run loss to Nepal; miss out on semi-final spot at ACC Trophy Elite 2012

Hong Kong have crashed out of semi-final contention at the ACC Trophy Elite 2012 with a disappointing 125-run loss to Nepal in the final round-robin match played at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.

Hong Kong, fielding perhaps it's youngest ever senior national team with an average age of 19.7 years following the selection of 16-year-old Karan Shah, failed to cope with the intense pressure of playing a winner-takes-all game against the well-drilled Nepal outfit.

Nepal opted to bat first after wining the toss but they were immediately pegged back as Tanwir Ahmed dismissed opener Subash Khaturel with the second ball of the innings. Hong Kong held the upper-hand in the early overs with ball dominating the bat as runs proved hard to score. Gyanendra Malla (28) and Anil Mandal (37) put together a solid 2nd wicket stand worth 70 runs but a double strike by Nizakat Khan and Kinchit Shah saw Nepal slip to 80-3 after 22 overs.

Nepal's skipper Para Khadka upped the tempo with a lusty 61 from 54 balls and he anchored the middle part of the Nepal innings before becoming Nizakat Khan's second victim. All the Nepal batters made useful contributions with Sharad Vesawkar (14), and Basanta Regmi (31) helping to lift the total to 180 by the end of the 43rd over. A late cameo from Pradeep Airee (25 from 26 balls) lifted Nepal's final total to a useful 225-7 after 50 overs.

Tanwir Afzal, Nizakat Khan and Kinchit Shah claimed two wickets apiece for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong would have been reasonably happy to keep Nepal to that score but their efforts in the field were undone by a woeful batting display that saw them dismissed for just 100 in 37 overs.

Hong Kong lost Irfan Ahmed (0) early, caught out off the last ball of the first over bowled by left-arm medium pacer Amrit Bhattarai. Waqas Barkat and Jamie Atkinson shared in a stand of 31 runs but when talisman Atkinson fell for 18, followed shortly thereafter by the Nizakat Khan (0), the writing was already on the wall for Hong Kong. Hong Kong was teetering at 33-3 in the 14th over, with the run-rate already starting to climb. Barkat and Anshuman Rath inched Hong Kong forward but on 43, disaster struck as three wickets fell for the addition of no further runs. Rath (6) was caught and bowled by Paras Khadkar and then Barkat (18) was bowled by Basanta Regmi. When Regmi trapped Kinchit Shah LBW for 0, Hong Kong was on the ropes at 43-6 after 18 overs.

Babar Hayat and Tanwir Afzal raised a glimmer of hope for Hong Kong and while those two were at the crease, Hong Kong sensed they still had a outside chance of pulling off a miraculous victory. The pair took the total up to 76 but the return of Bhattarai accounted for Afzal (22) and when Daljeet Singh (0) was bowled three balls later by the same bowler, Hong Kong's chances were well and truly snuffed out. A flurry of boundaries from Hayat took Hong Kong's total into the nineties but the dismissal of Nadeem Ahmed (6) and Karan Shah (0) condemned them to an ignominious defeat. Hayat remained unbeaten on 27* - Hong Kong's best on a poor day with the bat that saw five batters fail to register any score.

For Nepal, Basanta Regmi picked up 3-20 while Amrit Bhattarai claimed 3-26. The tight bowling of Paras Khadka, with 2-8 from 6 overs also helped Nepal's cause no end. Khadka was deservedly named Man of the Match for his batting and bowling efforts.

Hong Kong will now play Oman in the 5th/6th place play-off at Al Dhaid before return to Hong kong on Thursday.