Afghanistan thump Hong Kong in Asia Cup 2025 opener

• Naib and Farooqi claim two wickets each for Afghanistan.
• Hong Kong stumble to 94/9 despite Babar Hayat's 39.
• India to take on UAE in next match in Dubai on Wednesday.
  

Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai's fifties and collective bowling effort handed Afghanistan a dominating victory over Hong Kong by 94 runs in the opening match of the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Chasing a daunting 189-run target, Hong Kong could only accumulate 94/9 in their set of 20 overs despite top-order batter Babar Hayat’s anchoring knock.

Babar waged a lone battle for Hong Kong in the run chase with a cautious 39 off 43 deliveries. Besides him, only skipper Yasim Murtaza could reach double figures, scoring a 26-ball 16.

Gulbadin Naib and Fazalhaq Farooqi jointly led Afghanistan’s bowling charge, taking two wickets each, while Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Omarzai chipped in with one scalp apiece.

Afghanistan captain Rashid's decision to bat first paid dividends as his team’s batting unit yielded 188/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

The Alatans, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as they lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (eight) and Ibrahim Zadran (one) inside three overs with just 26 runs on the board.

Following the back-to-back blows, experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi joined Atal for a recovering 51-run partnership for the third wicket.

Nabi, who was the core aggressor of the crucial stand, fell victim to Kinchit Shah on the first delivery of the 11th over after scoring 33 off 26 deliveries with the help of three fours and a six.

Atal was then involved in a brief 18-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Gulbadin Naib (five) as Shah struck again in his next over to reduce Afghanistan to 95/4 in 13 overs.

Coming out to bat at number six, Omarzai reinstated Afghanistan’s dominance by scoring a quickfire half-century.

He dominated his 82-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Atal with a 21-ball 53, featuring two fours and five sixes, until Ayush Shukla got rid of him on the fifth delivery of the penultimate over.

Atal, on the other hand, carried his bat all the way through and top scored for Afghanistan with an unbeaten 73 off 52 deliveries, studded with six fours and three sixes.

For Hong Kong, Shukla and Shah picked up two wickets each, while Ateeq Iqbal and Ehsan Khan made one scalp apiece.