Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers: Hong Kong, UAE or Kuwait – Who will join India Pakistan in group A?

The Asia Cup 2022 is set to kick off on August 27, with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in the tournament opener on Saturday. Group B features Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, while India and Pakistan are in group A. 

The third team which will join India and Pakistan will be finalised on Wednesday, with the final two matches of Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers scheduled to take place later in the day. The qualifiers had begun on August 20, with four sides namely – UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Singapore fighting out for the one remaining berth in group A. 

Currently, Hong Kong sit pretty atop the Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers table, having won both their games. In their most recent encounter, captain Nizakat Khan (50) and Babar Hayat (53) scored half-centuries to propel Hong Kong on the verge of qualification through to group A. 

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Both UAE and Kuwait have won one match each, so they’re level at two points separated only by the net run rate (NRR). 

All four teams are in action today with Hong Kong scheduled to take on UAE, and Singapore due to face off against Kuwait. 

After a fantastic all-round performance, Hong Kong jump to the top of the standings with back to back wins in the Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers

#KUWvHK #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupQualifiers #Qualifiers pic.twitter.com/a1l9s9Yp5y

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) August 23, 2022

With just two matches to go, here’s what the qualification scenario for Asia Cup 2022 qualifiers looks like:

Hong Kong, with two wins and four points in the bag, are favourites to join India and Pakistan in group A, ahead of their final qualifier group game against UAE. A win against UAE would guarantee Hong Kong’s passage, while a win for UAE would then complicate matters. 

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UAE have a better net run rate of +1.045, so if they can upset Hong Kong, by a big margin, they will advance to group A of the Asia Cup, at the expense of Hong Kong. It will all boil down to the NRR should UAE win today. 

In the other match, Kuwait have a mission impossible at their hand, they will have to defeat Singapore by at least 100 odd runs or chase down the total with 7 or 8 overs remaining to take their NRR above Hong Kong or UAE. In a T20I match, that’s always unlikely, but never rule out anything in the sport.