Hong Kong blame dropped catches after going close to shock Asia Cup breakthrough
Captain left to reflect on fielding errors after city team threatened to inflict an upset on Sri Lanka
Hong Kong captain Yasim Murtaza said that fielding errors had proved decisive for his team after they exited the Asia Cup in Dubai on Monday.
Five spilled catches cost the Hongkongers dearly as they fell to a four-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in their closing match of the tournament.
Batting first, the city team posted 149 for four, Nizakat Khan top scoring with a breezy unbeaten 52.
In reply, Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka was reprieved three times on his way to a vital contribution of 68, while Kusal Perera survived two scares during his knock of 20.
The dismissals of Nissanka and Perera off successive balls at the beginning of the 16th over prompted a mini-collapse of four wickets for eight runs. But some late hitting from Wanindu Hasaranga got the Sri Lankans home with seven balls to spare.
In the field, Hong Kong were repeat offenders. It was the second time in three matches that they put down five chances in the field, following a similarly sloppy display last Tuesday in their 94-run loss to Afghanistan. They have finished the tournament winless after being narrowly beaten by Bangladesh in their second game.
“We were looking at scoring 150 to 160, so we got what we were thinking before the match,” said Murtaza.