Highlights
- Bangladesh is knocked out of the tournament
- Afghanistan and India have made it to the Super 4 round
- Pakistan will play Hong Kong today to move ahead
Asia Cup 2022: The much-anticipated tournament of this year, the Asia Cup has already started and it certainly looks like it is worth all the penny. The marquee tournament which has returned after a long haul of 4 years is being played in the T20I format this time around. This is the second time that this event is being conducted in the shortest format of the game. Before this, the Asia Cup was played in the T20I format back in 2016. This time the Asia Cup feels like more of a dress rehearsal for the Asian teams who will lock horns with the world in the grandest stage of them all, the T20I World Cup, which will be played in Australia later this year.
This time around, the Asia Cup consists of six teams, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong. Group A comprises India, Pakistan, and Hong Kong. Whereas Group B comprises Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Till this point time, every team has tried to put in their best efforts and outplay their opposition, but as of now, we only have three contenders for the Super 4 stage with one yet to be decided. India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka have qualified for the next round and the winner of the Hong Kong and Pakistan clash gets to march ahead in the next. round. Here is a quick recap of the tournament so far:
Group B, match 1: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka:
In the opener, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to field first at the Dubai International Stadium. team Afghanistan who was in a rampant mode reduced Afghanistan to 60/7 at one point in time. However, Sri Lanka's Bhanuka Rajapaksa provided some respite to his side as he scored 29 off 38 deliveries and guided Sri Lanka to 105 runs. When Afghanistan came to bat, Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked pretty solid as they stitched a partnership of 83. Late exploits from Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran helped team Afghanistan close the match by 8 wickets.
Group A, match 2: India vs Pakistan:
The mother of all clashes, the battle everybody awaits, this was one particular match that had kept the fans waiting for a very long time. Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first. The Indin pacers used their short-ball ploy to trap Pakistan and they executed it successfully. Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan top-scored and helped his team reach a decent total of 147. When India came to chase the target down, they were jolted by two quick dismissals of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, but it was Virat Kohli's 35 and Hardik Pandya's 33 off 17 that helped India win the match by 5 wickets.
Group B, match 3: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh:
Afghanistan was looking for a super 4 qualification and Bangladesh was looking to start its campaign on a winning note. Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to bat first. Doing justice to the reputation they have, the Afghan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan just tore apart the Bangladesh batting and restricted them to 127. The Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan team too looked in loads of trouble as they were reduced to 62/3 by the end of 13 overs. But late fireworks from Najibullah Zadran who scored 43 off 17 deliveries helped Afghanistan win by 7 wickets
Group A, match 4: India vs Hong Kong:
With a thumping victory over Pakistan in the first game, India took on Hog Kong who relatively looked like a weaker team. Hong Kong's skipper Nizakat Khan won the toss and opted to field first. KL Rahul raised many eyebrows with his mediocre batting, but it was Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli who stitched a partnership of 98 runs and propelled India's score to 192. The Indian bowlers were right on the money as they restricted Hong Kong to 152 and won the match by 40 runs.
Group B, match 5: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka:
This match in a way was a knockout game for both the teams who had lost their opening games to the Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan team. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to field first in this all-important game. Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh scored 38 off 26 deliveries whereas Afif Hossain scored 39 off 22 deliveries which helped Bangladesh reach a total of 183. Courtesy of Kusal Mendis's 60 off 37 deliveries and Dasun Shanaka's 45 off 33, Sri Lanka chased down this total with 2 wickets remaining.
