8:15pm That was a trademark Afghanistan innings. They lost a few more wickets than they would have wanted at the start, but took their time to consolidate, with Atal and Nabi steadying the ship. Once a bit of control had been established, the latter teed off, and Afghanistan, in general, tore Hong Kong apart towards the end, with Atal anchoring and Omarzai notching up the fastest-ever fifty by an Afghanistan batter in T20I cricket, and also the quickest half-century in the T20I version of the Asia Cup.

Hong Kong, it must be said, did offer Afghanistan a helping hand with all the catches they dropped. Atal was dropped very early in the innings (in addition to two other chances), and those missed opportunities ultimately added up, with Hong Kong unable to stem the run-flow at the death. They now have a steep run-chase in front of them, and there is no doubt who would be the happier side at the break. Join us in a bit for the chase!

Rashid strides out

Here's Namooh Shah with a stat. Fastest fifties for Afghanistan in T20Is:

20 - Azmatullah Omarzai v HK, Today

21 - Mohammad Nabi v IRE, 2017

21 - Gulbadin Naib v IND, 2024