Pakistan will play Hong Kong in the Asian Games quarter-finals, after the latter finished the group stages in second place in Group B. The two teams will play the quarter-final on September 28, the same day India will face Afghanistan.
Pakistan set to face Hong Kong in quarter-finals
Pakistan, who will begin their campaign from the quarter-finals, were lined up against Hong Kong after rain washed out the final two group stage games on Saturday.
This meant matches between Nepal and Japan and Malaysia and Oman could not fetch any result, leaving Nepal and Malaysia topping their respective groups. Malaysia, drawn in Group B, along with Hong Kong and Oman, will play Bangladesh while Nepal will take on Sri Lanka on September 29.
The forecast for quarter-final dates, however, remains as bleak. It is understood that in case a knockout game is washed out, the team with the higher ICC T20I ranking will progress to the semi-final.
Pakistan have only ever played Hong Kong twice in the T20I format, and both occasions inflicted heavy defeats on them. Their latest encounter came during the previous edition of the Asian Games, when Pakistan bested the match by 68 runs as their spinners bagged all ten wickets.
Pakistan’s squad for Asian Games:
Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wk).
Support staff:
Mike Hesson (head coach), Ashley Noffke (bowling coach), Shane McDermott (fielding coach), Muhammad Tahir (physiotherapist), Imran Ullah (trainer) and Usman Hashmi (analyst-cum-team operations coordinator).
Asian Games Quarter-finals schedule
1st quarter-final: Hong Kong vs Pakistan on September 28
2nd quarter-final: Afghanistan vs India on September 28
3rd quarter-final: Nepal vs Sri Lanka on September 29
4th quarter-final: Bangladesh vs Malaysia on September 29
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