Asia Cup 2025 Match 1: Afghanistan Smashes Hong Kong by 94 Runs in Opener
Abu Dhabi, September 9, 2025 – Afghanistan began their Asia Cup campaign in convincing fashion, defeating Hong Kong China by 94 runs in the tournament opener at the Zayed Cricket Stadium. A strong batting display followed by disciplined bowling enabled Afghanistan to dominate from start to finish.
Afghanistan Bat First: Middle Order Rescues After Early Wobbles
Winning the toss, Afghanistan chose to bat. Early breakthroughs from Hong Kong saw the Afghan top order in trouble: wickets fell early, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught off Ayush Shukla for 8 (5 balls), and Ibrahim Zadran out cheaply for 1 (4 balls).
But then came two innings that changed the course:
Sediqullah Atal carried his bat, unbeaten on 73 off 52 balls, collecting 6 fours and 3 sixes. Azmatullah Omarzai provided the fireworks with 53 off 21 balls, smashing 2 fours and 5 sixes. His fast scoring late in the innings pushed Afghanistan to a challenging total.
Afghanistan closed their innings at 188/6 in 20 overs. Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, and Ehsan Khan picking up wickets, with Shukla getting two wickets.
Hong Kong’s Reply: Never on Terms
Chasing 189, Hong Kong’s reply was undermined by early collapse and lack of resistance down the order. Openers Zeeshan Ali (5 off 6) and Anshuman Rath (0 off 1) fell in quick succession. Babar Hayat was the brightest spark, scoring 39 off 43 balls (including 3 sixes), holding one end together but lacked sufficient support.
Skipper Yasim Murtaza and others made small contributions, but the innings lacked a large partnership.
Hong Kong ended at 94/9 in 20 overs, falling well short by 94 runs. Gulbadin Naib: 2 wickets for 8 runs. His tight spell helped choke the chase. Fazalhaq Farooqi also claimed 2 wickets.
Atal and Omarzai did the damage with the bat and the bowlers finished the job as Afghanistan cruised to a huge win in Match 1️⃣ of the #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 #AFGvHK #ACC pic.twitter.com/bW7jQRDhiQ
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 9, 2025
Azmatullah Omarzai was awarded the Man of the Match for his record-breaking half century with a score of 53 runs off 21 balls and a crucial wicket.
Reaction & Implications
Afghanistan’s coach Jonathan Trott commented that while the win was satisfying, there were areas to improve — especially the early batting collapse and fielding lapses, pointing out dropped catches.
For Hong Kong, the match exposed vulnerabilities against strong attacks. Though Babar Hayat’s fifty-less knock was a positive, the rest of the batters could not build on it.
The result gives Afghanistan not only two points but also a healthy net run rate advantage in Group B, which includes Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong. It sets a strong tone for the rest of their group stage matches.
Have a look at the detailed full match scorecard here!
Some bites from X on the match:
Sediqullah Atal (73*) and @AzmatOmarzay (53) react to their performance that helped Afghanistan register their first win at the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup 2025. 👏#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvHK | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/l62DGk8OFE
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 9, 2025
⚠️ Spectators ⚠️
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 9, 2025
Azmatullah Omarzai unleashed his power game, tonking five massive 6️⃣s into the stands, in his whirlwind knock! 🌪️#AFGvHK #DPWorldAsiaCup2025 #ACC pic.twitter.com/pxUhZ2EJRD
