Afghanistan commenced their Asia Cup 2025 journey with a commanding victory over Hong Kong at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan’s performance was outstanding, while Hong Kong faced difficulties in both their batting and bowling departments, resulting in a 94-run loss.
Sediqullah Atal and Omarzai’s explosive innings led the charge.
Afghanistan, after winning the toss, elected to bat first and established a substantial score. Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai’s half-century contributions helped Afghanistan reach 188 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. Sediqullah Atal scored an unbeaten 73 runs from 52 balls, which included 6 fours and 3 sixes. His strike rate was 140.38. Azmatullah Omarzai played a fiery innings, completing his half-century in just 20 balls, amassing 53 runs with a strike rate of 252.38, including 2 fours and 5 sixes. Mohammad Nabi also made a valuable contribution of 33 runs.
Kinchit Shah of Hong Kong was the most effective bowler, taking 2 wickets for 24 runs in 3 overs. Ayush Shukla also took 2 wickets but conceded 54 runs in 4 overs. Ateeq Iqbal and Ehsan Khan each managed to take 1 wicket.
Impressive bowling performance by Afghanistan.
Following their strong batting performance, the Afghan bowlers excelled as well. They dismissed 4 Hong Kong batsmen during the powerplay, putting significant pressure on Hong Kong. Hong Kong could not recover and scored only 94 runs in 20 overs, losing 9 wickets. Babar Hayat was the top scorer with 39 runs, while no other player crossed the 20-run mark. Gulbadin Naib and Fazalhaq Farooqi took 2 wickets each for Afghanistan. Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad each took 1 wicket.