Afghanistan had shared the first position with Oman in the first edition and clinched the title in the second edition.[break]
Winning the toss, Afghanistan opted to bat first and scored 125 runs losing all wickets in 19.5 overs. Hong Kong was restricted to 117 runs in 19.2 overs.
Afghanistan lost wickets in regular intervals -- four wickets were lost when the team´s score was 24 runs. However, Gulbodin Nabic Hayat and Asghar Stanikzai (11 off 23) shared a 49-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Hayat again made a fruitful 42-run partnership with Mohammad Nabi for the sixth wicket.
Hayat scored 57 runs off 50 balls with five huge sixes and two boundaries. Nabi scored 24 runs off 16 balls to guide the team for the modest total.
Munir Dar grabbed five wickets for 23 runs while Nadeem Ahmed took two wickets. Irfan Ahmed and Aizaz Khan shared a wicket each.
Chasing the modest total of 127 runs, Hong Kong also failed to make a good start. Its dangerous batsman Irfan Ahmed was bowled out in the first over by Hamid Hassan. Waqas Barkat and Jamie Atkinson shared a 48-run second wicket partnership. However, Waqas Barkt, who scored 22 runs off 17 balls, fell in the last ball of the eighth over. Atkinson, who batted till the first ball of the 18th over was out after scoring 35 runs off 46 balls.
Hong Kong was at 113/7 by the end of the 18th over. Hong Kong was in need of 13 runs from 12 balls with three wickets in hand but Hamid Hassan´s pace attack turned the course of the game.
Hassan bowled out Babar Hayat and Kinchit Shah in the first and the third ball of the 19th over while Aizaz Khan was run out in the second ball. Nadeem Ahmed was also short to the crease in the second ball of the last over, bringing Hong Kong´s hope down to the floor.
Afghan pace batteries Hassan and Dawlat Zadran took five wickets -- Hassan took three and Zadran claimed two. Likewise, spinner Mohammad Nabi took two wickets while Zamir Khan grabbed a wicket.
Delighted Afghan coach Dawlat Ahmadzai said Hong Kong put up a good fight Afghan performance was superb. “It´s a big day for the Afghanistan as we defended our title.”
Special batting coach of Hong Kong Lou Vincent said his team has learnt lessons from the tournament. “We did not bat well in the final match,” said Vincent. “It´s great to play in Nepal as the audience is huge. We in Hong Kong have small audience,” said Vincent, the former New Zealand batsman.
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