Hong Kong pull off a stunning victory over Afghanistan in the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup final

	Hong Kong celebrates their victory over Afghanistan by 8 wickets in the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup final © ACC

Hong Kong pulled off a stunning victory by 8 wickets over crowd favourites Afghanistan in the final of the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2009 played in Kuwait. In front of a huge crowd of mostly Afghanistan supports, the Hong Kong team kept their cool to cruise to a surprisingly comfortable victory.

Hong Kong skipper James Atkinson, who was recently identified as the first player born in the 1990's to play ODI cricket, won the toss and elected to field first in warm and humid conditions. His opening bowlers vindicated that decision as they made early and decisive inroads into the Afghani top-order. Niaz Ali trapped Iqbal Maliki LBW from the second ball of the match to get Hong Kong off to the best possible start. Zaki Ullah Zaki responded by hitting Aizaz Khan's first ball for six but the Hong Kong opening bowler took his revenge in the 4th over when Zaki was well caught by Aditya Kanthan. Aizaz picked up the prized wicket of Noor-ul-Huq in his next over and when Niaz Ali induced a poor shot from Afghan skipper Shir Shairzai, Afghanistan was reeling at 21 for 4 after seven overs and the big crowd was silenced.

A period of consolidation followed by the Afghanistan batsmen. Afghanistan's two most prolific batsmen at this tournament, Aiman Wafa and Asgher Hotak, added 55 runs for the fifth wicket but their partnership consumed twenty overs and when Wafa was bowled by Nizakat Khan, Afghanistan had only 76 runs on the board with more than half their overs gone. Zard Ali's arrival at the crease helped lift the tempo as he smote a run-a-ball 68 including 7 boundaries. When the score reached 148, Asgher Hotak was deceived by a delivery from Naiz Ali and was bowled. Asgher had scored 70 from 112 balls, including 5 boundaries. Zard Ali was joined by Murad Ali and the two shared a 54-run partnership to lift Afghanistan over the 200 mark. A flurry of boundaries at the end lifted Afghanistan to a final score of 215 for 9 from their 50 overs. Niaz Ali was once again the pick of the Hong Kong bowlers, claiming 3-34 from his ten over spell that included 3 maidens. Aizaz Khan grabbed 3-26 from his seven overs while Nizakat Khan picked up 3-44 in ten overs with his beguiling legbreaks.

	Man of the Match James Atkinson receives the winners trophy © Kuwait Cricket

The Hong Kong bowlers had done a brilliant job at restricting the free scoring Afghanistan batsmen on a good batting track. It was now up to the batsmen to see if they were up to the task. That they were, as James Atkinson and Shakeel Haq put on a masterful display in an opening stand worth 121 runs in 29.4 overs. Shakeel was the first to fall when he was bowled by Zard Ali for 51 from 104 balls, including six boundaries. Atkinson was joined by Nikakat Khan and the two batsmen continued to show their class as they took Hong Kong to the brink of a famous victory. However, with victory in sight, Atkinson was deprived a deserved century when he was bowled by Noor-ul-Haq for 94 with the total on 180. His innings had lasted 114 balls and included 10 boundaries. Thirty-six runs were still needed off 43 balls but any thoughts of a dramatic collapse were swiftly put to rest as Nizakat and Irfan Ahmed made light work of the remaining runs and Irfan finished the game in style as he smashed a boundary to bring up the winning runs off the last ball of the 47th over. Nizakat finished unbeaten on an excellent 46 from 52 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six, while Irfan finished on 17 not out, with 2 boundaries.

It was a comprehensive performance by Hong Kong, who had outplayed Afghanistan in every aspect of the game. It was also a performance of character, played in difficult circumstances under extreme pressure in front of a crowd of hundreds of noisy supporters all baying for an Afghan victory.

Scorecard: ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2009 Final - Hong Kong Under-19 v. Afghanistan Under-19

For the record, although no Player of the Tournament was named, Hong Kong players topped both batting and bowling statistics. Irfan Ahmed scored the most runs (227 runs at an average of 56.50) while Niaz Ali claimed the most wickets (12 wickets at an average of 10.41 and an economy rate of 2.90 runs per over). Irfan Ahmed's all-round credentials were clearly evident as he also claimed 10 wickets at an average of 18.10 and an economy rate of 3.78 r.p.o., including the tournament's best figures of 6-22 against Malaysia.

By making it through to the final, the Hong Kong Under-19 team qualifies for a ten-team tournament, involving the top two Under-19 teams from the European, American, African and East Asia Pacific regions, to be played at the end of 2009 (final date and venue to be announced). The outcome of that tournament will determine places for the next ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup to be played in Kenya during February 2010.

It's been a banner year for Hong Kong cricket on the international stage. Hong Kong now holds the two top associate level titles under the control of the ACC, having also lifted the ACC Trophy in 2008. The senior mens team also achieved promotion to Division Three of the ICC World Cricket League and narrowly missed out on a chance to play in the Cricket World Cup. To cap things off, Hong Kong achieved its best ever result at the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes, finishing 4th and claiming the scalps of Sri Lanka and the All-Stars on the way.