Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has called for improvement from his team following their inconsistent batting display in the Asia Cup victory against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Afghanistan initially struggled, reaching 95-6 in 13 overs, but capitalised on dropped catches to achieve a match-winning total of 188-6 after choosing to bat in the tournament opener.

Opener Sediqullah Atal was the top scorer with 73 runs, despite being dropped three times, including in the first over.

“We were a bit fortunate with a few dropped catches that sort of let us off. We need to make sure we improve on a few areas for the rest of the group games," Trott said after Afghanistan’s 94-run win.

“We’ve got a few days off now. We’ve had a hectic schedule, six games in 12 days. So this is a good win. An important game for us and glad we’ve won it in the style we have."
 

Azmatullah Omarzai contributed 53 runs off 21 balls before Afghanistan restricted Hong Kong to 94-9.

Their next match is against Bangladesh on September 16, and Trott emphasised the need for the batters to take more responsibility going forward.

“For me, it’s important that some of our players need to get in some form and need to start getting runs. That’s very important," the former England batter said.

“I would like us to have batted better. But then the way Sediq played and the way Azmat came in and hit the ball showed us it’s a pretty good pitch.

“I’m fairly happy with the total that we got, but there are still things we need to work on and make sure we’re ready for the rest of the games."

How Afghanistan Beat Hong Kong?

Opting to bat, opener Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai hit fine fifties as Afghanistan posted 188 for six. Atal remained unbeaten with 73 runs off 52 balls, and Mohammad Nabi contributed 33 runs, sharing a 51-run stand for the third wicket. Omarzai then provided a late charge with a rapid 53 off 21 balls.

In reply, Hong Kong could only manage 94 for nine in 20 overs, with Babar Hayat top-scoring with a 43-ball 39. Afghanistan’s bowlers shone with Fazalhaq Farooqi taking 2 for 16, Gulbadin Naib 2 for 8, Azmatullah Omarzai 1 for 4, and Noor Ahmed 1 for 16.
For Hong Kong, Kinchit Shah and Ayush Shukla took two wickets each, with respective figures of 2 for 24 and 2 for 54, while Ateeq Iqbal and Ehsan Khan claimed one wicket each, with figures of 1 for 7 and 1 for 28.