Afghanistan started their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a commanding 94-run victory over Hong Kong at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, underlining their status as one of the tournament’s most dangerous sides. While it may have been billed as a mismatch on paper, Afghanistan used the fixture wisely as a tune-up for the bigger tests ahead and walked away with two points and plenty of confidence.
After the match, the Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan reflected on the win and lauded the efforts of his team.
“It was great. Good to put a total on the board. In the last series as well, (losing) early wickets – that is very key for us and we have to look into it. Upcoming games are very important and that is an area if we can make it better…overall, it was a great performance. That (middle order coming good) was something I wanted to see, especially Azmatullah (and his innings).”
“If you have good spinners, it puts extra pressure. If you have runs on the board…with batters trying to take risks, that is where you are more effective (as spinners), and that is why we are defending better than chasing. But in T20, we have to chase also, so the mentality has to be to chase as well and have a good record. (On having so many bowling options) That is a very tough ask, (selecting) the playing eleven (as well). To keep Mujeeb out is a tough decision, then Noor as well (was left out) in some games.
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“I forgot to bowl my two overs (tonight at first). You have to see who is more successful against a particular batter (and then see). Good thing is I have options and that makes the job easier.” concluded the Afghan skipper
