Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong, 1st T20I Match Preview

Published - 08 Sept 2025, 13:52 IST | Updated - 08 Sept 2025, 13:54 IST

Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to get underway on September 9 with a clash between Afghanistan and Hong Kong. The match will be played at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The two teams last played a 20-over match against each other in March 2016.

Afghanistan are coming into this match on the back of a successful tri-series outing against UAE and Pakistan. They won three out of four matches in quite some style before going down to Pakistan in the final. They did not play any T20Is other than the tri-series in 2025.

On the other hand, Hong Kong come into the Asia Cup on the back of a healthy diet of 20-over cricket. They participated in the Malaysia Tri-Nation T20I Series, Quadrangular T20 Series and the Asia Pacific Cricket Champions Trophy.

It will be interesting to see how Hong Kong perform in their opening clash. Although a win for them is unlikely, it is expected that the Yasim Murtaza-led team will put on a tough side against a well-rounded Afghan outfit.

Batters are expected to score freely once set. Not a lot of help is anticipated to be up on offer for the spinners. Dew is expected to play a role later on in the match.

Yasim Murtaza (c), Anshy Rath, Martin Coetzee, Kinchit Shah, Shahid Wasif, Zeeshan Ali (wk), Aizaz Khan, Nizakat Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Ali Hassan, Ehsan Khan