Afghanistan beat Hong Kong by eight runs in the ACC Twenty20 Cup final to retain their title in thrilling fashion.Hong Kong seemed capable of pulling off a shock victory for long periods of the match at Tribhuvan University.Having bowled their opponents out for 125 they needed 47 more off the final eight overs, with eight wickets in hand.Afghanistan pace bowlers Hamid Hassan (3-12) and Dawlat Zadran (2-21)
then turned the match around with Hong Kong's remaining wickets falling
for just 38.Needing 11 to win from the final over, just two were scored before
Nadeem Ahmed was run out going for a second run off the second ball of
the over Afghanistan made it three wins out of three in the ACC Twenty20 Cup but
they can rarely have been forced to fight so hard for a win in the
tournament.Hong Kong opening bowler Munir Dar can feel most aggrieved to have
finished on the losing side after picking up 5-23 to help bowl
Afghanistan out for 125 with a ball to spare.Dar picked up wickets in each of his first two overs to send back the Afghanistan openers Mohammad Shahzad and Nawroz Mangal then fell for ducks as the batting side slumped to 24-4 in the sixth over.Gulbodin Naib (57 off 50 balls) then gave his team a total to defend by
sharing in stands of 49 with Asghar Stanikzai (11) for the fifth wicket
and 42 with Mohammad Nabi (24) for the sixth wicket.Afghanistan then lost their last five wickets in the space of seven balls in the chase for late runs.Nadeem Ahmed was Dar's best ally in the bowling department with a phenomenal 2-8 from four overs.Hong Kong were on course for victory when they reached 79-2 at the start of the 13th over.Courtney Kruger (17) was then bowled by Dawlat to begin the Afghanistan fightback.As long as skipper Jamie Atkinson (35) remained at the crease there were still hopes of a shock ACC Twenty20 Cup winner The right-hander became another victim of Dawlat to leave 21 still needed off 17 balls with just four wickets left.Hong Kong's lower order were unable to cope with the pressure as Afghanistan completed a dramatic turnaround.Hong Kong have the consolation of a place in the ICC World Twenty20
Qualifier next March as reward for their contribution to a magnificent
competition.They join the winners, Oman and Nepal in UAE next year.
