Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai stole the show in the Asia Cup 2025 match against Hong Kong, blasting a fiery 53 runs off just 21 balls at the Zayed International Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This explosive innings made him the fastest Afghan batter to hit a T20I half-century, smashing Afghanistan’s record books wide open.
Omarzai shattered the previous mark shared by Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib, who both reached their fifties in 21 balls—Nabi against Ireland and Naib versus India. Batting first, Afghanistan struggled at 95/4 when Omarzai strode in. He attacked right away, hitting clean and fearless shots to turn the game around.
The highlight? Omarzai smashed three sixes in a row off Ayush Shukla’s over, swinging the momentum firmly towards his team. He raced to his fifty in a stunning 20 balls—the quickest ever for an Afghan in T20 internationals—before getting out. His knock featured five massive sixes and two fours, giving Afghanistan the perfect boost in the death overs.
Teaming up with opener Sediqullah Atal, who played a steady unbeaten 73 off 52 balls, Omarzai built an 82-run stand that propelled Afghanistan to a strong 188/6 in 20 overs. Atal anchored the innings beautifully, reaching his own half-century in 41 balls.
The innings started shakily with two quick wickets, but Atal and Nabi steadied things with a key partnership. They kept the runs flowing, ending the powerplay at 41/2. Nabi targeted pacer Aizaz Khan, smashing a four and a six in his first over, then adding two more boundaries next time around. By the halfway mark, Afghanistan sat at 77/2 after a 51-run stand.
Spinner Kinchit Shah broke through in the 11th over, catching Nabi at long-off for 33. Gulbadin Naib hit Shah for a six over deep mid-wicket but couldn’t build on it, falling to the spinner in the 13th over. That’s when Omarzai joined Atal to unleash the fireworks.
This thrilling display of aggressive T20 batting has fans buzzing about Afghanistan’s rising stars in the Asia Cup.
