The Asia Cup 2025 has begun with the first match of the tournament taking place between Afghanistan and Hong Kong at the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Afghans are looking to start their campaign on a high, as many have tipped them to be the second strongest side of the tournament after India. They had a fantastic batting performance in the first innings, where they put up 188 runs. Two of the major contributors for Afghanistan were Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai, who both scored half-centuries.

They have thus created history.

Azmatullah Omarzai and Sediqullah Atal put up 82 runs for he fifth wicket in just 35 deliveries. This is now the highest partnership by a pair for the fifth wicket or lower in the history of the Asia Cup T20I edition. They went past the record created by the pair of Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed, who put up 70 against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2016.

Azmatullah Omarzai managed to slam a crucial half-century, that too in just 20 balls. This is the fastest fifty achieved by an Afghan batter in the shortest format of the game.

Afghanistan Slam 188 After 20 Overs
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first. They got off to a poor start, losing the wickets of Azmatullah Omarzai and Ibrahim Zadran in the first four overs. Sediqullah Atal and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi then put up a solid fight against the tricky Hong Kong bowlers, as they put up a crucial fifty-run partnership.

After that, Kinchit Shah once again put the Afghans in trouble with the two quick wickets of Nabi and Gulbadin Naib. After that, Atal and Omarzai put together the solid 82-run stand, as Afghanistan finally managed to score 188 at the end of their 20 overs. Atal top-scored with 72 from 51 deliveries.