Hong Kong notched up a stunning two-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a thrilling qualifying round match but could not prevent the home side from booking a Super 10 berth in the World Twenty20 here on Thursday.
Chasing a small target of 109, minnows Hong Kong struggled to 50 for five in the 10th over but a fine rear-guard effort from lower-order batsmen, led by Munir Dar (36), took them to a shock win with two balls to spare at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Despite the loss, Bangladesh sneaked through to the Super 10 by topping Group A on net run rate. They finished the qualifying round on four points -- same as Nepal -- but had a better net run rate of plus 1.466 as against plus 0.933.
Bangladesh would have been knocked out of the tournament had Hong Kong chased down the target in 13.1 overs but that proved to be a tough ask. Number seven batsman Dar, who top-scored with a 27-ball 36, was mainly responsible for the memorable win for Hong Kong as he took his side to the threshold of victory in the match that went down the wire.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh: 108 all out in 16.3 overs (Shakib Al Hasan 34, Anamul Haque 26; Nadeem Ahmed 4/21) lost to Hong Kong: 114 for 8 in 19.4 overs (Munir Dar 36, Irfan Ahmed 34; Shakib Al Hasan 3/9) by two wickets
Nepal’s second win
Subash Khakurel smashed a fine half-century to help Nepal beat Afghanistan by nine runs in their final Group A qualifying match and register their second win. Nepal, ended with two wins from three matches, and second inn the table.
Brief Scores: Nepal: 141 for five in 20 overs (Subash Khakurel 56, Sharad Vesawkar 37; Shapoor Zadran 2/19) beat Afghanistan: 132 for eight in 20 overs (Asghar Stanikzai 49, Shafiqullah 36; Jitendra Mukhiya 3/18) by 9 runs.