A bit of a no-contest to begin the 2022 Asia Cup. Sri Lanka were never in the game, they were blown away by Fazalhaq Farooqi with the new ball, with skipper Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman also chipping in with a couple of wickets apiece. Sri Lanka’s scorecard read like a telephone directory, with only three players getting into double digits. They weren't at the races with the ball as well, as their marquee bowlers Theekshana and Hasaranga were hammered by the Afghan openers Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The latter was tricked by a googly late in the innings, but it wasn't going to impact the game much as Afghanistan coasted to an 8-wicket victory with almost 10 overs to spare. A solid statement of intent from Afghanistan, who managed to rout the 2014 T20 World Champions without needing their key man Rashid Khan! A bunch of youngsters stepped up for them, and they have sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the competition - Afghanistan cricket has arrived at the 2022 Asia Cup!

Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi returned bowling figures of 3-11 to help Afghanistan thrash Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the opening match of the Twenty20 tournament on Saturday. Afghanistan elected to field and bundled out Sri Lanka for a paltry 105, a total their batsmen overhauled in 10.1 overs in Dubai. Left-hander Hazratullah Zazai, unbeaten on 37, and wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanllah Gurbaz, who hit 40, put on 83 runs for the opening wicket to build on the dominance started by the bowlers. Afghanistan, in Group B with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have made a thumping start to their campaign in the six-nation tournament that acts as a tune-up to the T20 World Cup in October-November in Australia.