Afghanistan beat Hong Kong by a huge margin of 94 runs in the T20I Asia Cup opener at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening.
Chasing a challenging 189-run target for victory, Hong Kong lost four wickets inside the power-play. They ended up at 94/9 in their quota of 20 overs.
Babar Hayat remained the top scorer for his side with 39 of 43 balls. He hit three maximums. Skipper Yasim Murtaza made 16 off 26 balls, hitting one boundary. No other batter could enter the double figures.
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib got two wickets each. Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad and skipper Rashid Khan bagged one wicket each. Kalhan Challu and Nizakat Khan ran out. Azmatullah Omarzai was named player of the match for his performance with the bat and ball.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Afghanistan reached 188/6 in the allocated 20 overs.
Sediqullah Atal was the highest scorer for Afghanistan with an unbeaten 73 off 52 balls, laced with six boundaries and three maximums. Azmatullah Omarzai made 53 off 21 balls with the help of two fours and five sixes.
Mohammad Nabi contributed a valuable 33 off 26 balls, laced with three fours and one maximum. Ayush Shukla and Kinchit Shah bagged two wickets each, while Ateeq Iqbal and Ehsan Khan got one wicket apiece.
Afghanistan Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (capt), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Hong Kong Playing XI: Zeeshan Ali (wk), Babar Hayat, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Kinchit Shah, Yasim Murtaza (capt), Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Ehsan Khan
