Video of the Day - Asia Cup 2025: Gurbaz smashes a maximum but Ayush Shukla gets the last laugh
Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell for eight runs, dismissed by Ayush Shukla in the second over of the match.
3 Min Read
Hong Kong pacer Ayush Shukla provided his side with an early breakthrough in the Asia Cup 2025 opener by dismissing Afghanistan’s aggressive opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan had earlier won the toss and elected to bat, opting for a spin-heavy line-up featuring three spinners in the tournament opener at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
Opening the bowling for Hong Kong, Shukla settled quickly into his rhythm. In his second over, Gurbaz danced down the track and lofted a length ball over long-off for a clean six, showing early intent. However, Shukla responded brilliantly in the next ball, giving an immediate response to the opening batter and striking early for the Yasim Murtaza-led side.
On the very next delivery, he bowled a full ball with a hint of away movement. Gurbaz, attempting a repeat of the previous shot, mistimed his stroke badly. The ball flew off the outer half of his bat and went high over mid-off, where Nizakat Khan ran back and completed a safe reverse-cup catch. Gurbaz departed after a quick eight off five balls.
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6️⃣ & OUT! ☝️
— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) September 9, 2025
Hong Kong strike courtesy Ayush, Gurbaz departs 💥
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Later in the innings, Afghanistan middle-order batter Azmatullah Omarzai brought up his maiden T20I half-century with a clever boundary off Ayush Shukla in the penultimate over of the innings. Omarzai stayed on the leg side, guiding the ball past the outer cover and guiding it fine past short third to reach his fifty. Earlier in the same over, he had smashed a hat-trick of sixes, boosting his strike rate and bringing up his fifty in just 20 balls.
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