Asia Cup 2018: India Can Face Arch-Rivals Pakistan Thrice in the Competition

The biennial tournament of the Asia Cup 2018 is all set to commence from 15th of September 2018. Considered as the pinnacle in Asia, the 14th edition of the coveted Cup will be played in its old form owing to the 50-over format. And the interesting battle would be between India vs Pakistan.

India was about to host the upcoming edition of Asia Cup. But, due to some political tensions taking place between India and Pakistan, it was shifted to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will kick off the main round on 15th September. However, the qualifying stage of the game will take place before that. The qualifying team will be the sixth team of the tournament.

From the historical context, India alongside Sri Lanka has the most number of Asia Cup titles. Both the teams went on to clinch the title of Asia Cup five times. Pakistan is next in line with two titles.

Team India along with arch-rivals Pakistan and a team from qualifier will form the group A of Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in another group.

India and Pakistan have a possibility to meet thrice in the group in the Asia Cup schedule. In 2008, India and Pakistan met twice in the event.

Here are the possible scenarios for India vs Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2018:

First meeting: India and Pakistan will meet first time on 19th of September since Champions Trophy final 2017. Interestingly, it will also be the first time since 2008 when both the countries will battle on the UAE soil.

Group A results: Evidently, there is less margin for errors. With all teams playing just two games, the results are empirically depending on wins.

Only points will help the team to qualify for top four round.

Second meeting: As mentioned by the ICC that group A will face with the member of the same group again.

Considering the equation, India and Pakistan will meet again irrespective of their group standing. Group A winner will battle with the Group A runner-up in the third match of super four.

Super four: After the round of super four, the two top teams will qualify for the next phase. It will be either decided by the points or the Net Run-Rate.

Third meeting: if India and Pakistan both managed to make it to top two teams, they would fight for the title on 28th September. The fight for the crown of Asia champions will take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.