Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott wasn't pleased at all despite the side's 94-run victory over Hong Kong in the opening match of Asia Cup 2025. He was especially not impressed with the team's batting performance during the match and remarked that some players need to take responsibility and start scoring runs.
Though Afghanistan were the favourites to win the match, it looked like Hong Kong will be able to restrict them to a low total after they had restricted them to 95/4 after 13 overs. If it wasn't for Sediqullah Atal (73*) and Azmatullah Omarzai's (51) blistering knocks, then the Rashid Khan-led side could very well have been in massive trouble. Except for the two and Mohammad Nabi (33), no other Afghanistan batter even managed to cross the 10-run mark.
Afghanistan would eventually go on to post a formidable total of 188/6 and would end up restricting Hong Kong to 94/9 in their 20 overs. Following the match, Trott not only criticised the batters, but also pointed out that Hong Kong's dropped catches went on to favour the side a lot and added that they will definitely be looking to improve their performance in the upcoming matches.
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“We started averagely today. We were a bit fortunate with a few dropped catches that sort of let us off. We need to make sure we improve in a few areas for the rest of the group games,” Trott told ESPNcricinfo.
“We need players to take responsibility. Some of our players need to get in form and start scoring runs. I would have liked us to bat better, but the way Sediq and Azmat batted showed it was a good pitch. I’m fairly happy with the total we got, but there are still things we need to work on," he added.
Afghanistan's brilliant bowling performance
It was a fantastic bowling display from Afghanistan, who didn't let Hong Kong score runs easily and also kept on taking wickets on regular intervals. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib took two wickets each while Rashid, Omarzai and Noor Ahmad also took a wicket each as the side started their Asia Cup campaign on a high.
Rashid Khan & Co's next match in the tournament will be against Bangladesh on September 16 before they cap off their group stage with the match against Sri Lanka on September 18.