Pakistan will face Hong Kong in the last group match of ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022 on Friday in Sharjah.
Pakistan will be confident of securing a place in the Super Four stage of the event by defeating Hong Kong, who were beaten by table-toppers India on Wednesday in Dubai.
It is a must-win for both teams as the team that loses the match will be out of the tournament. The winning team will qualify for the Super Four stage.
“It was a tight game against India, the morale is high in the camp and all our players are confident of doing better in the upcoming game,” top-order batter Fakhar Zaman was quoted as saying in a press release by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“T20 is a short format which provides an equal opportunity for both teams to show-case their strengths. To aim for the Super Four we have to ensure we minimize our errors and put up a good show.
“Hong Kong has played good cricket in the qualifiers, but we will try to stick to our plans.
“The weather is hot here in UAE, but we are trying to keep ourselves hydrated. We’ll be playing against some competitive teams in Super 4 and for that we need to be in perfect shape.”
It must be noted that Pakistan lost their opening match against India by five wickets after the Men in Blue successfully chased down 148-run target on Sunday.
If Pakistan defeat Hong Kong, they will face India in their first Super Four match on Sunday, September 4.
The match will start at 7:00 pm Pakistan Standard Time.
Expected lineups
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.
Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan (c), Yasim Murtaza, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Zeeshan Ali, Scott McKechnie (wk), Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shuka, Mohammad Ghazanfar.
