Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 Highlights: AFG beat HK by 94 runs

And that's that. One run and a wicket off the last over of the match bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi. Hong Kong never really went anywhere with that innings. Afghanistan will feel very good about this win. They had been ripped to shreds just a few days ago by Pakistan but they have shown today that they are definitely among the contenders to go deep in this tournament. They would still be wanting to avoid misfields when the big games come around though. But the important thing is that their power-packed bowling lineup got a proper look in with Hong Kong playing out the full 20 overs.

Rashid gives the second ball of the 17th a bit of air and pitches it full on middle and leg. Azaz slogs across the line and his timing is all over the place. The ball goes high in the air, it looks like Nabi had over run it a bit at long on, tracks back and takes the catch behind his head quite brilliantly. He rarely ever drops catches.

Aizaz Khan c Mohammad Nabi b Rashid Khan 6 (10)

Hong Kong 78/7 in 16.2 overs

Well it was good while it lasted. Or not so good, as Hayat's walks back with a strike rate of 90.69. Gulbadin bangs in the fifth ball of the 13th into the track outside off, Hayat mistimes his pull and picks deep midwicket to perfection.

Hayat c Sediqullah Atal b Gulbadin Naib 39 (43)

Hong Kong 63/6 in 13 overs

Well Kinchit Shah was going nowhere with this innings, neither was his partner Babar Hayat who is on 22 off 34, and so one of them had to do something. Fifth ball of the 10th over by Noor Ahmed on a length around off, Kinchit tries the sweep and does well with the shot. But Janat tracks back at deep backward square leg and takes a sharp catch to his right.

Kinchit Shah c Karim Janat b Noor Ahmad 6 (10)

Hong Kong 43/5 in 9.5 overs

Well, Omarzai shows his teammates with butter fingers how it is done off his own bowling! Third ball of the fifth over is fullish and outside off. Challu hits it back towards the bowler and sets off for a single. The ball didn't go past the bowler though, Omarzai picks it up in his follow through and fires it back at the striker's end in one smooth move. Challu is hopelessly off his crease.

Challu run out (Azmatullah Omarzai) 4 (8)

Hong Kong 22/4 in 5 overs

Well this seemed to be nothing more than a non-event but it has turned out to be a wicket. Sharp work there from Rashid Khan, not so sharp from Nizakat Khan. Babar Hayat dabs the second ball of the third over towards mid off where Rashid collects the ball and fires a throw at the non-striker's end. Nizakat had taken a couple of tentative steps off his crease and he tried to slide his bat back just when the ball hit the stumps. Bowler Farooqi didn't seem very interested, he was just starting to walk back to his mark when the replays showed that Nizakat may have got nothing behind the crease when the bails were dislodged. That was rather lethargic from Nizakat.

Nizakat Khan run out (Rashid Khan) 0 (0)

Hong Kong 13/3 in 2.2 overs

How about it! The replays show clear daylight between bat and ball. Had Rath reviewed that, he would've stayed. It isn't just a flatline on ultra edge, there was a huge gap between bat and ball. Replays seem to indicate that he had a half a mind to review that and was either talked out of it or ran out of time. But how he didn't instinctively he had nothing on that will remain a mystery. Zeeshan had managed a four off the fifth ball after Farooqi initially threw it way down leg side for five wides. That gives Hong Kong 11 runs in the first over.

All right then. Fazalhaq Farooqi is bowling the first over for Afghanistan, Zeeshan Alo is on strike, Anshuman Rath at the other end. Hong Kong have a target of 189 to chase.

He has done his job though and Afghanistan won't mind that one bit. Omarzai goes big fifth ball as well, this time he miscues his shot. Goes high up in the air and the fielder at long on does well to run in off the boundary line and take the catch.

Omarzai c Aizaz Khan b Shukla 53 (21)

And we have take off! Ateeq Iqbal bowling the 17th over, the first ball is sent towards point for a four. He takes a single next ball and the Atal with back to back sixes off the third and fourth balls.Two wides before the last ball of the over is sent to fence past square leg for four by Atal.

He is on 68 off 48 balls, Omarzai on 21 off 11.

Afghanistan 144/4 in 17 overs

Two off the last ball of the 15th over and Atal gets to his third T20I half-century in 41 balls. He has steadily stood by while wickets fell at the other end but Afghanistan might need him to accelarate a tad bit here.

Afghanistan 110/4 in 15 overs

Just 16 runs in the last two overs and finally, the pressure gives. Kinchit Shah gets the big wicket with his first ball of the match. This was sent across Nabi, pitching on length, the batter goes for an almighty swing. Holes out at long off.

Nabi c Nizakat Khan b Shah 33 (26)

Afghanistan 77/3 in 10.1 overs

Aizaz Khan bowls the first over after powerplay. His third ball is a slower one nicely in the slot for Nabi and the grand old man of Afghanistan cricket smashes it past sweeper cover for four. The next ball is a quick one outside off, Nabi reads it like a book, gives it the charge and smashes it over mid off for six. A single next ball and a dot to finish, Nabi retains strike next over.

He is on 18 off 14, Atal on 27 off 19.

Afghanistan 56/2 in 7 overs

Edged and gone! Ibrahim Zadran has to walk after scoring one run in four balls, what a start for Hong Kong! Back of a length delivery outside off, Zadran goes chasing after it and ends up edging it to the wicketkeeper. Test match dismissal there.

Zadran c Zeeshan Ali b Ateeq Iqbal 1 (4)

Afghanistan 26/2 in 3.2 overs

Shukla's first ball strayed onto Atal's pads and the batter gets inside the line to send it past short fine leg for four. Shukla manages to get an outside edge and it is dropped at first slip by the Hong Kong captain. Then Atal walks down the track to the next ball and sends it over mid on for four. The last ball was glanced towards short fine leg. The fielder there is in position to take the catch, he ends up parrying it towards the boundary.

A touch of live and dead grass, you might get some turn. It looks so flat. The grass is 3.5mm, it is consistent and you don't expect it to crumble or turn. Batting first is a good option. Ireland defended 199 against South Africa last year, there was not much dew then. So put the runs on the board and defend. Stump to stump for the spinners will work beautifully.

Afghanistan have won the toss and are batting first in Abu Dhabi

He doesn’t quite glide along the green carpet, doesn’t possess a bagful of impish variations, he makes the ball talk plain prose rather than grand verse, but makes batsmen’s life hellish. He bends the ball into the right-hander, not devilishly, but moderately; and shapes the ball away from them. From the same run-up, point of release, same length, same line, and with the same eager expression. In effect, he has demystified the fabled magic of the left-armer. But underestimating him is a self-inflicted peril. Ask some of the Indian batsmen he tormented in the Super Eight fixture of the T20 World Cup last year. Read more here.

The supremacy of India has been the predominant theme in the prelude to this tournament. While Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, having tasted only four defeats in 22 games, did not boast about the bleeding obvious of his group’s utter domination in the last two years, he acted like one, with the relaxed authority of a leader who knows his well-drilled troop is primed for the battle and storms in the desert, who could on most days laugh their ways to victories. Read more here from our man in the UAE, Sandip G.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan on Tuesday didn't mince words while criticising the "not so ideal" scheduling and logistical arrangements of the Asia Cup where his team would be based in Dubai and travel nearly two hours to Abu Dhabi on its match days. "Well, I don't think it's ideal - that's what we were discussing (with the other captains) before as well," Rashid said during the mandatory captains' press meet which also had Asian Cricket Council head and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi in attendance. "To play in Abu Dhabi and stay here in Dubai for all three games...it's different. But as professional cricketers, we have to accept these things," said the highest wicket-taker in T20I history.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Ishaq, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib