Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Afghanistan started their Asia Cup campaign with a commanding 94-run win over Hong Kong in a Group B encounter at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It was also the third biggest victory by margins in the T20 edition of the continental tournament. The match was marred with a sloppy fielding effort by both sides as eight catches were dropped throughout the clash, the joint-most in the men’s T20I since 2020.
Chasing 189, Hong Kong had a turbulent start to their innings as Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed opener Anshuman Rath on a duck on the second ball of the innings. Zeeshan Ali and Nizakat Khan soon followed suit, as Afghanistan got total control of the match very early in the innings. Kalhan Challu was the fourth batter to be sent back to the pavilion in the powerplay as Hong Kong were reeling at 23/4 after the six overs. Kinchit Shah also failed to prolong his stay at the crease and fell to spinner Noor Ahmad in the 10th over.
Babar Hayat was the only batter to show some resistance and contributed 39 runs, including three fours, before being dismissed by Gulbadin Naib. In the end, Afghanistan’s bowlers collectively reduced Hong Kong to 94/9 to start the tournament on a high. For Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib bagged two scalps each, while captain Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Azmatullah Omarzai got a wicket each.
Earlier, half-centuries from Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai guided Afghanistan to 188/6 in 20 overs. Opting to bat first, Afghanistan opener Sediqullah Atal started the team’s campaign with a boundary on the first ball of the match. He followed it with a back-to-back fours off Ayush Shukla to wrap the opening over.
