MORE: Hong Kong Sixes 2026 schedule: Start date and squads
The United Arab Emirates have been the giant-killers of Group C at the Hong Kong Sixes 2026, and their wins over Pakistan and India have sent them into the Cup semi-finals while both of the subcontinental heavyweights have been pushed into the lower brackets.
The result has changed the shape of the tournament, as the defending champions can no longer retain the title they won last season.
UAE captain Khalid Shah was at the heart of both victories, and the two sides who were beaten by his team now have to settle for a place in the consolation rounds.
Pakistan will play in the Plate competition, while India have landed in the Bowl, which is a long way from where either would have hoped to be at this stage.
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The UAE began their campaign with a narrow win over Pakistan, who made 106 in their six overs thanks largely to Abbas Afridi’s 53 off 13 balls. Khalid Shah then led the chase of 107 with a thumping 71 off 20 balls, and the UAE got there on the very last delivery, finishing on 109 for five.
Pakistan recovered to beat India in their next game, when Afridi’s 35 off eight balls, which included five sixes in a single over, and Khawaja Nafay’s 41 off 12 helped them knock off 89 runs in just 23 balls.
India’s second match was against the UAE, and it went even worse for them. They scored 94 for six in their innings, but Khalid Shah, with 52 off 14 balls, and Ansh Tandon, with 39 off 12, chased down the target of 95 without losing a wicket, finishing on 97 in 4.2 overs.
The tournament sends teams into three separate knockout tiers according to their final positions in the pool. The UAE, as group winners, move into Cup Semi-Final 1, where they will face Australia, who topped Group A, and they remain in the hunt for the main championship trophy, which will be decided on Sunday.
Pakistan have been knocked out of the race for the Cup, and they enter Plate Semi-Final 2 against Hong Kong, the runner-up of Group A, with a fifth-place finish at stake. India, after two heavy defeats under Krunal Pandya, have dropped into Bowl Semi-Final 2 against England, the third-placed side in Group A, and will be playing for a finish between ninth and twelfth.
All five semi-finals will be played on Saturday, October 31, at the Mission Road Ground in Mong Kok. The timings below are shown in IST.
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Soham Mukherjee is a content producer and writer, with a focus on cricket, football, tennis and Indian sports. His work has appeared in Goal.com previously, where he has covered the Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, FIFA World Cups and Indian football. Armed with an MA (Master's) in Sports Journalism from Symbiosis International University, he knew early on that his future wouldn’t be on the pitch but behind the pen, shaping narratives about the games he adores.
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