Afghanistan have started the 2025 Asia Cup with a statement win, beating Hong Kong by 94 runs. Fifties from Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai helped them set a target of 189 for Hong Kong to chase. The latter were then torn apart in the powerplay by Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai before Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad did the rest. Hong Kong finished with a score of 94/9.
Earlier, Sediqullah Atal remained unbeaten on 73 off 52 balls, Azmatullah Omarzai scored 53 in 21 as Afghanistan finished their innings with a score of 188/6 in 20 overs batting first in the Asia Cup 2025 tournament opener against Hong Kong. In reply, Hong Kong crumbed in the powerplay, finishing the first six overs with a score of 23/4. Atal and Mohammad Nabi first arrested Afghanistan’s slide after they lost two wickets in the powerplay with a 51-run partnership for the third wicket. Omarzai then went on the attack with Atal and the pair smashed 82 runs in just 35 balls for the fifth wicket.
Hong Kong Score Board:
Batting                                           R      B     4s      6s
Zeeshan Ali                                        5      6      1       0                  c Mohammad Nabi  b Azmatullah Omarzai
Anshy Rath       c Rahmanull h Gurbaz              0       1      0       0                   b Fazalhaq Farooqi
Babar Hayat       c Sediqullah Atal                 39      43      0      3                  b Gulbadin Naib
Nizakat Khan     run out (Rashid Khan)               0       0       0      0
Kalhan Challu    run out (Azmatullah Omarza)         4       8       0      0
Kinchit Shah    c Karim Janat b Noor Ahmad         6      10       0      0
Yasim Murtaza    lbw b Gulbadin Naib              16      26       1      0Â
Aizaz Khan     c Mohammad Nabi b Rashid Khan     6      10       0      0
Ehsan Khan     c & b Fazalhaq Farooqi                6      11       0      0
Ayush Shukla    not out                             1       2       0      0
Ateeq Iqbal      not out                              1       3       0      0
Total:Â 94/9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 20.0 Overs (RR: 4.70)Â Â
Fall of Wickets:
1-1 (Anshy Rath, 0.2 ov), 2-12 (Zeeshan Ali, 2 ov), 3-13 (Nizakat Khan, 2.2 ov), 4-22 (Kalhan Challu, 4.3 ov), 5-43 (Kinchit Shah, 9.5 ov), 6-63 (Babar Hayat, 12.5 ov), 7-78 (Aizaz Khan, 16.2 ov), 8-91 (Yasim Murtaza, 18.4 ov), 9-93 (Ehsan Khan, 19.2 ov)
Afganistan Score Board:
Batting                                             R      B      4s      6s
Sediqullah Atal        not out                        73      52      6      3
Rahmanullah Gurbaz  c Nizakat Khan b Ayush Shukla    8       5      0     1
Ibrahim Zadran       c Zeeshan Ali b Ateeq Iqbal        1       4      0     0
Mohammad Nabi     c Nizakat Khan  b Kinchit Shah     33      26      3     1
Gulbadin Naib       c Yasim Murtaza b Kinchit Shah      5       8      0      0
Azmatullah Omarzai   c Aizaz Khan b Ayush Shukla      53      21     2     5
Karim Janat        c Nizakat Khan  b Ehsan Khan        2       3      0      0
Rashid Khan      not out                              3       1      0      0
Noor Ahmad
AM Ghazanfar
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Total:Â 188/6Â Â 20.0 Overs (RR: 9.40)
Fall of Wickets:
1-25 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2.2 ov), 2-26 (Ibrahim Zadran, 3.2 ov), 3-77 (Mohammad Nabi, 10.1 ov), 4-95 (Gulbadin Naib, 13 ov), 5-177 (Azmatullah Omarzai, 18.5 ov), 6-184 (Karim Janat, 19.4 ov)