Afghanistan vs Hong Kong HIGHLIGHTS Asia Cup 2025: AFG beat Hong Kong by 94 runs in opener
Rashid Khan and co. get a convincing opening win in the tournament that will boost their net run rate as well.
 "AFG vs HK")
AFG vs HK
Afghanistan posted a strong total of 188/6 in their 20 overs against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup 2025 clash. Early wickets had put Afghanistan under pressure at 26/2, but a crucial partnership between Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Nabi steadied the innings. Atal, who was dropped early on, made the most of his chances, playing a composed innings of 73 runs off 52 balls, anchoring the team through the middle overs.
The game-changing moment came in the 17th and 18th overs when Azmatullah Omarzai unleashed a blistering assault. In just 21 balls, he smashed a fiery 53 runs, including five towering sixes, dramatically shifting momentum in Afghanistan’s favor. His explosive hitting helped Afghanistan accelerate from a modest platform to a dominant total, scoring 69 runs in the last four overs alone.
Despite some disciplined bowling spells from Hong Kong, especially Ehsan Khan and Kinchit Shah, fielding lapses cost them dearly. Multiple dropped catches off Atal and Azmatullah proved costly and allowed Afghanistan to post a challenging total. The 19th over bowled by Ayush Shukla was particularly expensive, conceding 24 runs and further denting Hong Kong’s chances.
In reply, Hong Kong’s chase never got going as they struggled against Afghanistan’s bowling attack. Only Babar Hayat showed some resistance with his 39 off 43 balls, featuring some powerful sixes, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to build partnerships. Afghanistan’s bowlers maintained pressure and took timely wickets, restricting Hong Kong to 94/9 at the end of their innings.
Afghanistan’s victory by 94 runs was a dominant display that highlighted their all-round strength. Their middle and lower order firepower in batting, combined with disciplined bowling and sharp fielding, ensured a comfortable start to their Asia Cup campaign. Hong Kong, on the other hand, will need to regroup after a disappointing batting performance under pressure.
AFG 1st innings scorecard:
| Afghanistan Inning188-6 (20 ov) CRR:9.40 | ||||||||||||||||
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||||||||||
| Sediqullah Atal | Not out | 73 | 52 | 6 | 3 | 140.38 | ||||||||||
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) | c N Khan b A Shukla | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 160 | ||||||||||
| Ibrahim Zadran | c Zeeshan Ali b A Iqbal | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||||||||||
| Mohammad Nabi | c N Khan b K Shah | 33 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 126.92 | ||||||||||
| Gulbadin Naib | c Yasim Murtaza b K Shah | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 62.5 | ||||||||||
| Azmatullah Omarzai | c A Khan b A Shukla | 53 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 252.38 | ||||||||||
| Karim Janat | c N Khan b Ehsan Khan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 | ||||||||||
| Rashid Khan (C) | Not out | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 300 | ||||||||||
| Extras | 10 (b 0, Ib 1, w 9, nb 0, p 0) | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 188 (6 wkts, 20 Ov) | |||||||||||||||
| Yet to Bat | Noor Ahmad,Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar,Fazalhaq Farooqi | |||||||||||||||
| Fall of Wickets | ||||||||||||||||
| 25-1(Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2.2),26-2(Ibrahim Zadran 3.2),77-3(Mohammad Nabi 10.1),95-4(Gulbadin Naib 12.6),177-5(Azmatullah Omarzai 18.5),184-6(Karim Janat 19.4) | ||||||||||||||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD | ECO | |||||||||
| Ayush Shukla | 4 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13.5 | |||||||||
| Ateequl Rehman Iqbal | 3 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10.67 | |||||||||
| Ehsan Khan | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||
| Aizaz Khan | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | |||||||||
| Yasim Murtaza | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.75 | |||||||||
| Kinchit Shah | 3 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||||||||
Hong Kong 2nd innings scorecard:
| Hong Kong Inning | ||||||||||||||||
| 94-9 (20 ov) CRR:4.70 | ||||||||||||||||
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||||||||||
| Zeeshan Ali (WK) | c M Nabi b A Omarzai | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 | ||||||||||
| Anshuman Rath | c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b F Farooqi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Babar Hayat | c Sediqullah Atal b G Naib | 39 | 43 | 0 | 3 | 90.7 | ||||||||||
| Nizakat Khan | runout (R Khan) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Kalhan Challu | runout (A Omarzai) | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||||||||||
| Kinchit Shah | c K Janat b N Ahmad | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||||||||||
| Yasim Murtaza (C) | lbw b G Naib | 16 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 61.54 | ||||||||||
| Aizaz Khan | c M Nabi b R Khan | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||||||||||
| Ehsan Khan | c & b F Farooqi | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 54.55 | ||||||||||
| Ayush Shukla | Not out | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | ||||||||||
| Ateequl Rehman Iqbal | Not out | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 | ||||||||||
| Extras | 10 (b 0, Ib 1, w 9, nb 0, p 0) | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 94 (9 wkts, 20 Ov) | |||||||||||||||
| Fall of Wickets | ||||||||||||||||
| 1-1(Anshuman Rath 0.2),12-2(Zeeshan Ali 1.6),13-3(Nizakat Khan 2.2),22-4(Kalhan Challu 4.3),43-5(Kinchit Shah 9.5),63-6(Babar Hayat 12.5),78-7(Aizaz Khan 16.2),91-8(Yasim Murtaza 18.4),93-9(Ehsan Khan 19.2) | ||||||||||||||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD | ECO | |||||||||
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 3 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5.33 | |||||||||
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| Rashid Khan | 4 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
| Noor Ahmad | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
| Gulbadin Naib | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2.67 | |||||||||
| Karim Janat | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 | |||||||||
11:55 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: AFG get across the line easily!
A comfortable 94-run win for Rashid Khan and co. as they get their first points on the table to get a strong start in the tournament.
11:43 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: HK 89/7 after 18 overs
Skipper Murtaza is trying to bat on until the final overs as the score stands at 89/7 after 18 overs. Final 2 overs left to play on the night.
11:31 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: AFG 73/6 after 15 overs!
Afghanistan need 116 to win from 30 balls. The Men in Blue edging towards victory now and it's just a matter of time.
11:19 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Gulbadin strikes!
Hong Kong's final hope is gone as Babar Hayat is caught courtsy of Gulbadin Naib's delivery. Gone for 39 runs. HK need 126 from 43 balls now.
11:09 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: 1 run from the over!
Over Summary 0 1 0 0 0 0; HKC 44/5 after 11 overs; Murtaza 0 (5) Hayat 23 (36)
Gulbadin into the attack for Afghanistan and concedes 1 run from the over
11:00 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Kinchit departs!
Noor Ahmed gets his first wickets as Karim janat takes a brilliant running catch to dismiss Kinchit.
10:58 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Hong Kong trying their best!
Over Summary 1 6 0 1 1 1; HKC 40/4 after 7 overs; Kinchit 4 (8) Hayat 21 (31)
Rashid Khan continues the attack for Afghanistan and concedes 10 runs from the over
10:51 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: 5 runs from the over!
Over Summary 2 0 1 0 1 1; HKC 28/4 after 7 overs; Kinchit 1 (5) Hayat 12 (22)
Rashid Khan into the attack for Afghanistan and concedes 5 runs from the over
10:44 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: 1 run from the over!
Over Summary 0 0 0 0 0 1; HKC 23/4 after 6 overs; Kinchit 0 (3) Hayat 8 (18)
Ghazanfar continues the attack for Afghanistan and concedes 1 run from the over
10:34 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Quick reaction from Omarzai!
Omarzai's quick reaction hands AFG another wicket as Challu is run-out at the striker's end. 4th wicket goes down for Hong Kong.
10:17 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Zeeshan departs!
Another wicket for Afghanistan as Omarzai gets his first to dismiss Zeeshan Ali on the 2nd over.
10:13 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Early wicket for AFG!
Over Summary 1 W 0 1 5wd 4 0; HKC 11/1 after 1 over; Babar 1 (2) Zeeshan Ali 5 (3)
Farooqi begins begins the attack for Afghanistan and concedes 11 runs from the over
10:09 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: Farooqi strikes early!
Afghanistan get an early wicket as Anshuman goes for a duck courtesy of Fazhalhaq Farooqi.
10:08 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: 2nd innings begins!
Afghanistan players come out to defend a healthy total on the night.
9:51 PM
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 LIVE SCORE UPDATES: AFG 1st innings scorecard!
| Afghanistan Inning188-6 (20 ov) CRR:9.40 | ||||||||||||||||
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |||||||||||
| Sediqullah Atal | Not out | 73 | 52 | 6 | 3 | 140.38 | ||||||||||
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) | c N Khan b A Shukla | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 160 | ||||||||||
| Ibrahim Zadran | c Zeeshan Ali b A Iqbal | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||||||||||
| Mohammad Nabi | c N Khan b K Shah | 33 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 126.92 | ||||||||||
| Gulbadin Naib | c Yasim Murtaza b K Shah | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 62.5 | ||||||||||
| Azmatullah Omarzai | c A Khan b A Shukla | 53 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 252.38 | ||||||||||
| Karim Janat | c N Khan b Ehsan Khan | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 | ||||||||||
| Rashid Khan (C) | Not out | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 300 | ||||||||||
| Extras | 10 (b 0, Ib 1, w 9, nb 0, p 0) | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 188 (6 wkts, 20 Ov) | |||||||||||||||
| Yet to Bat | Noor Ahmad,Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar,Fazalhaq Farooqi | |||||||||||||||
| Fall of Wickets | ||||||||||||||||
| 25-1(Rahmanullah Gurbaz 2.2),26-2(Ibrahim Zadran 3.2),77-3(Mohammad Nabi 10.1),95-4(Gulbadin Naib 12.6),177-5(Azmatullah Omarzai 18.5),184-6(Karim Janat 19.4) | ||||||||||||||||
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD | ECO | |||||||||
| Ayush Shukla | 4 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13.5 | |||||||||
| Ateequl Rehman Iqbal | 3 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10.67 | |||||||||
| Ehsan Khan | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||
| Aizaz Khan | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | |||||||||
| Yasim Murtaza | 4 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.75 | |||||||||
| Kinchit Shah | 3 | 0 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||||||||
Topics : Cricket News Asia Cup Afghanistan cricket team
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First Published: Sep 09 2025 | 6:43 PM IST
