A fiery opening spell by rookie pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi set the tone for Afghanistan after they won the toss and opted to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the opening fixture of the Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium Saturday.

Farooqi had opener Kusal Mendis and one-down Charith Asalanka pinned on consecutive deliveries of the opening over to put the Lankans on the back foot.

His opening partner Naveen-ul-Haq had the other opener, Pathum Nissanka, caught behind in the second over before a 44-run partnership provided some respite from the Afghan onslaught.

That changed as Afghanistan’s spin duo of Mujeeb-ur-Rehman and Rashid Khan entered the fray, with able support from Muhammad Nabi.

Middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa top-scored for the Sri Lankans with 38, while Chamika Karunaratne contribued 31 to help the Lankans cross the hundred mark.

Mujeeb and Nabi took two wickets apiece to have the Lankans bundled out for a below-par 105 in 19.4 overs.

Afghanistan had no jitters in reply, with their opening duo of Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz racing towards the target in typically aggressive style.

Gurbaz dealt mostly in boundaries, hitting four lusty sixes and three boundaries in his 18-ball 40.

The two put together 83 runs in just 6.1 overs - scoring at almost 14 runs against a required run rate of 5.3.

Zazai continued in a similar vein, ending unbeaten on 37 off 28 deliveries with five fours and one six, helping Afghanistan chase down the target in 10.1 overs with eight wickets to spare.