Published: Mar 12, 2018, 12:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 12, 2018, 06:50 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2018. Match 19 of the tournament will see Nepal take on Hong Kong. Hong Kong are currently eyeing a place in the Super Sixes. Their defeat against Zimbabwe on Saturday has left Group B wide open. If Hong Kong win against Nepal, they will leapfrog past Afghanistan to seal a spot in the Super Sixes. Nepal, on the other hand, need to win by a huge margin in order to go past Afghanistan to third spot and keep their hopes alive for the Super Six. Hong Kong have had a topsy-turvy campaign in the tournament so far. They secured a victory against Afghanistan but faced consecutive defeats against Scotland and Zimbabwe. If Hong Kong are to qualify for their first ever World Cup they will need to find greater consistency, particularly in the batting department. Nepal qualified for the Qualifiers in dramatic fashion at the ICC World Cricket League Division Two and will be hoping to rekindle those memories as they search for a first win in the tournament. Nepal has so far faced crushing defeats against Zimbabwe, Scotland and Afghanistan. Paras Khadka has been the only talking point of Nepal’s batting throughout the tournament. Sandeep Lamichhane has shown glimpses of his potential, picking up four wickets. Nepal will need to pull off the all-round team performance they have so far been lacking if they are to overcome Hong Kong. Squads: Nepal: Paras Khadka (c), Dipendra Singh Airee (wk), Aarif Sheikh, Lalit Bhandari, Shakti Gauchan, Karan KC, Sandeep Lamichhane, Gyanendra Malla, Dilip Nath, Rohit Kumar, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Anil Sah, Sompal Kami, Sharad Vesawkar Hong Kong: Babar Hayat (c), Scott McKechnie (wk), Ahsan Abbasi, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Barkat, Chris Carter, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath, Simandeep Singh, Shahid Wasif
