Afghanistan kicked off their Asia Cup campaign with a massive 94-run thrashing of Hong Kong in a thrilling Group B match at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This dominant win marks the third biggest margin in T20 Asia Cup history, but the game wasn’t without its mishaps—both teams dropped a whopping eight catches, the most in men’s T20Is since 2020. Sloppy fielding aside, Afghanistan’s bowlers and batters shone bright to deliver a statement victory.
Hong Kong’s chase of 189 turned into a nightmare right from the start. Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi struck gold early, sending opener Anshuman Rath packing for a golden duck on the second ball. Zeeshan Ali and Nizakat Khan followed quickly, leaving Hong Kong in deep trouble. By the end of the powerplay, they were staggering at 23/4 after losing Kalhan Challu too. Things got worse when spinner Noor Ahmad removed Kinchit Shah in the 10th over.
Babar Hayat put up the best fight for Hong Kong, smashing 39 runs with three fours before Gulbadin Naib got him out. But Afghanistan’s attack was relentless—Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib each grabbed two wickets, while captain Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, and Azmatullah Omarzai claimed one apiece. Hong Kong crumbled to 94/9 in 20 overs, handing Afghanistan a comfortable Asia Cup opener win.
Earlier, Afghanistan’s batters set the tone by posting 188/6 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Opener Sediqullah Atal exploded from the get-go, hitting a boundary on the first ball and following it with back-to-back fours off Ayush Shukla. Rahmanullah Gurbaz added a quick six before Shukla bounced him out. Ibrahim Zadran couldn’t make much of an impact and fell to Ateeq Iqbal in the fourth over.
Atal and Mohammad Nabi then steadied the ship with a crucial partnership. Nabi targeted pacer Aizaz Khan, smashing a four and a six in one over, then two more boundaries in the next. By the 10th over, Afghanistan were cruising at 77/2. Kinchit Shah broke through by dismissing Nabi for 33, caught at long-off. Gulbadin Naib hit a six but soon perished to Shah as well.
Azmatullah Omarzai joined Atal, who reached his half-century off 41 balls. The duo turned on the afterburners in the death overs, dealing mostly in boundaries. Atal smashed consecutive sixes off Iqbal, while Omarzai blasted three sixes and a four in the penultimate over against Shukla to notch his maiden T20I fifty in just 20 balls—before getting out on the next delivery.
Atal stayed unbeaten on a brilliant 73 off 52 balls, featuring three sixes and six fours. Hong Kong’s bowlers, led by Kinchit Shah’s impressive 2-24 in three overs, fought hard, but those dropped catches proved costly and let Afghanistan pile on the runs.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 188/6 in 20 overs (Sediqullah Atal 73*, Azmatullah Omarzai 53, Mohammad Nabi 33; Kinchit Shah 2-24) beat Hong Kong 94/9 in 20 overs (Babar Hayat 39, Yasim Murtaza 16; Gulbadin Naib 2-8, Fazalhaq Farooqi 2-16) by 94 runs.
