Afghanistan faces off against Hong Kong in the opening match of Asia Cup 2025 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Both teams are doing well with Afghanistan now known as a solid team in T20Is while Hong Kong are no mere pushovers. It’s a Group B game to kickstart the competition. With the T20 World Cup 2026 just about 6 months away, this tournament is being organised in a T20 format. This will be a stepping stone towards preparation for the big event in India and Sri Lanka in February-March 2026.
Teams are split into two groups for the initial stage of the tournament. Group A consists of 8-time defending champions India, 2-time Champions Pakistan, Oman, & UAE the host nation. Group B also called the Group of Death consists of 6-time champions Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next stage which is the Super 4 stage. Looking at the teams and recent history, Afghanistan starts as favourites but Hong Kong will not be pushovers in this contest for sure and will be looking to spoil the party.
Overview
Afghanistan come into this clash on the back of a crushing defeat at the hands of Pakistan in the UAE Tri-Series final on Sunday and that must have dented their confidence for sure. In that match, the bowlers did a decent job of restricting Pakistan to 141/8 in 20 overs. But the batters caved in under pressure and lost the plot as they were skittled out for 66 and lost the contest by 75 runs exposing a lot of frailties in the batting department.
The return of Naveen-ul-Haq will be a timely boost for Afghanistan as that will add much-needed depth to their pace attack especially in the death overs which is an area where they’ve been leaking runs in recent games which included matches in the Tri-Series. They need to fix this hole quickly in order to do well in the tournament.
As always, the strength of Afghanistan lies in the spin department and they will rely heavily on the spinners to do the bulk of the damage. They have included as many as six spin bowling options which includes their talismanic skipper Rashid Khan and he will continue to lead the attack as well. There is Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Allah Ghazanfar, Mohammad Nabi the veteran all-rounder and Sharafuddin Ashraf as well apart from Rashid.
Naveen and Fazalhaq Farooqi will be expected to lead the pace attack while Azmatullah Omarzai will chip in being the all-rounder if the conditions offer anything for the seamers. At the top of the order, Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked scratchy in Sharjah, but Ibrahim Zadran offered some stability with consistent runs. Sediqullah Atal has shown glimpses of being a reliable option in the top three.
It’s the middle order that poses a concern for Rashid Khan’s side. With a line-up that is packed with all-rounders and only three specialist batters, Afghanistan will always run the risk of collapses, something that happened and cost them in the Tri-Series final.
Let’s come to Hong Kong now. Their search for their first-ever win in the Asia Cup continues. They have played 11 matches across formats with 5 matches in T20Is and six matches in ODIs and are yet to register a victory. That record is unlikely to change given the group that they are placed in, but they can cause a flutter or two for sure.
Hong Kong will be led by a new captain this time in Yasim Murtaza. Despite the leadership change, there’s no shortage of T20I experience in the squad. Off-spinner Ehsan Khan stands out with 127 wickets in 94 matches, the most by any bowler in Hong Kong’s T20I history.
With the bat, Babar Hayat with 2,216 T20I runs and Anshuman Rath with 1,824 T20I runs will be the key figures for Hong Kong. Experienced all-rounder Nizakat Khan, who has featured in over 100 T20Is, will look to draw on his experience as the team continues its search for a maiden Asia Cup victory.
So, the stage is set for the opener as Hong Kong will try to give a fight to Afghanistan. Whether they achieve an upset win remains to be seen as anything can happen in T20 cricket.
Head-To-Head
Afghanistan and Hong Kong have faced each other in six encounters with Afghanistan holding the edge with 4 wins while Hong Kong has 2 wins under their belt. But the last time the two sides met in a T20I was on 10th March 2016 in a T20 World Cup match which Afghanistan won easily. So, it is the Atlans who hold the edge in Head-To-Head record.
Pitch & Weather Conditions
The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi favours the spinners a little less than Dubai but it still has something in it for them due to the slow nature of the pitch. Batting in the second innings can prove to be challenging at times because of the uneven bounce and that means an advantage for team batting first. If there is no dew factor, then batting first may prove to be the right option. A score of 160-170 will be competitive batting first.
The weather in Abu Dhabi will be hot during the day with temperatures expected to cool down in the night. The temperature zooms past 40 in the day time and is slightly better at night. Matches are starting 30 minutes later than originally scheduled due to the weather factor. There is no chance of rain and we can expect a full game for sure.
Possible Playing XIs Of Both Teams
Here we will try and predict the possible playing XIs of both the sides.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammad Nabi, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Hong Kong XI: Anshuman Rath, Zeeshan Ali (wk), Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Matthew Coetzee, Yasim Murtaza (c), Ehsan Khan, Alizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Nasrulla Rana, Ayush Shukla.
Key Players to watch out for
Rashid Khan: The Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan will be expected to lead from the front with the ball as his 4 overs are always crucial. And if the team needs him, he can contribute with the bat with lusty blows down the order. Afghanistan will want a fit Rashid Khan to do well and perform if they are to have any chance of doing well in this tournament.
Ibrahim Zadran: Ibrahim Zadran is a glue for the Afghanistan side. Batting at 3 in the recently concluded Tri-Series, Ibrahim batted with aplomb and scored bulk of the runs for Afghanistan. He is someone who is a steady batter and holds the innings together. It is him and Atal who did most of the scoring in the Tri-Series. Come the Asia Cup, and being the vice-captain of the side, Ibrahim will look to have a good tournament to help Afghanistan do well.
Babar Hayat: One of the key performers for Hong Kong has been Babar Hayat. He is the leading run-scorer for them and batting at Number 3, will provide the glue to the innings. Babar needs to be in prolific touch if the team are to compete against the higher ranked sides. If he does well, Hong Kong will be able to put competitive scores on the board.
Anshuman Rath: Anshuman Rath is also a key player in this team as he opens the batting for Hong Kong. We all know the opener’s role in T20Is, and Anshuman will be expected to give the team good solid starts with his partner and if they do that, then Hong Kong will be well served. It’s not going to be easy against the Afghanistan bowling attack especially their spinners, but they need to be up for the challenge.
Few Stats and Trivia Ahead of this clash:
- In 21 years of playing the Asia Cup, Hong Kong have lost all 11 matches they have played across formats with 6 in ODIS and 5 in T20Is.
- Afghanistan have a better T20I record in Abu Dhabi which is the venue for this encounter than the other grounds in the UAE. They have won 11 games and lost 5. But the caveat to that is, the Afghans lost their only match against Hong Kong at this venue back in 2015.
Predicted Outcome of the Clash:
It is tough to predict the outcome of any match let alone a T20I clash. Anything can happen in the shortest form of the game as an upset can always happen. Hong Kong are an improving side and will be no pushovers while Afghanistan will be wounded a little after their loss in the Tri-Series final a few nights ago. Given the conditions on offer and the history for Afghanistan, we reckon Afghanistan to be the favourites and the most likely team to come out on top.
Hong Kong will have to play out of their skins to win this clash and the only hope maybe is let Afghanistan chase as they have faltered in chasing. If Afghanistan bats first, it’s going to be tough for Hong Kong to upstage them. The stage is set for the opener of Asia Cup 2025 from 8 PM IST on 9th September 2025 and we cannot wait for the match to begin.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: SWOT Analysis – Afghanistan Eye For Glory