Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan to take on Hong Kong in must-win match today

Pakistan will hit the ground today [Friday] for a do-or-die clash against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates today [Friday], Geo News reported. 

The Group-A match will begin at 7pm PST. It is the 6th match of the Twenty20 tournament - a major cricketing event in the Asian continent. 

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.

Both teams faced defeat at the hands of India in their first group matches. 

Former national cricket team captain Inzamam-ul-Haq called on Pakistan to hit the ground with full preparation for the match versus Hong Kong.

"No team should be taken lightly," the former skipper said while expressing his opinion in the Geo News program "Jishan Cricket" on Wednesday.

The Asia Cup 2022 features six teams from the Asian continent divided into two groups. Pakistan is in Group A along with India and Hong Kong. Group B has the other three Asian teams -- Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Following the group matches, two top teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, which will begin on September 3.

The winners of the Group A game between Pakistan and Hong Kong today will secure a Super Four spot alongside India.

From Group B, Sri Lanka will face Afghanistan in the opening Super Four clash in Sharjah on Saturday as Bangladesh are out of the event.

The final between the top two teams of the Super Four will be played on September 11. The cricket action will continue in Dubai and Sharjah till the final on September 11.

Squads

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

Hong Kong: Nizakat Khan (capt), Yasim Murtaza, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie (wk), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Ayush Shukla, Mohammad Ghazanfar