The highly awaited Asia Cup 2018 is all set to begin this Saturday, 15th September 2018. Cricket fans around the world are expecting great cricket as the top teams lock horns during this tournament. UAE are the hosts to the Asia Cup 2018 and 6 teams will be participating to compete for the Asia Cup title.
5 teams were announced earlier and the Asia Cup Qualifier 2018 was played between 29th August and 6th September 2018 to decide the 6th team to participate in the Asia Cup 2018. Hong Kong defeated UAE in the Asia Cup Qualifier final and secured a spot for themselves and now will be playing their first Asia Cup ODI against Pakistan on 16th September 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Teams
· Afghanistan
· Bangladesh
· Hong Kong
· India
· Pakistan
· Sri Lanka
Venues Of the 13 Asia Cup 2018 matches, 8 will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. 5 ODIs are scheduled to be played at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Schedule
Group Stage The six teams are placed in 2 Groups, viz. Group A and Group B. Group A has the arch-rivals India and Pakistan along with the Asia Cup Qualifier winner Hong Kong. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are all placed in Group B. In the group stage, each team plays 2 matches, one against each team in the group. The Group A matches are scheduled on 16th, 18th, and 19th September 2018. The ODI on 19th September 2018 is the most awaited and exciting one – India vs Pakistan. The Group B matches are scheduled on 15th, 17th and 20th September 2018.
Super Four
After the group stages matches are concluded, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the next stage of the Asia Cup 2018 – Super Four. 6 matches will be played in the Super Four stage.
The Super Four matches will be played between 21st September and 26th September 2018. There are 2 ODIs on 21st September and 23rd September each that are scheduled to start around the same time at the two different venues. The remaining 2 matches will be played on 25th and 26th September 2018. The two teams that finish at number 1 and number 2 after the conclusion of the Super Four stage will qualify for the Asia Cup 2018 final on 28th September. The expectations from India are high as they are the defending champions.
India will be resting Virat Kohli for this tournament and will be led by Rohit Sharma who is the run machine for India. Other teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also put a competitive fight for the title. Afghanistan and Bangladesh are the underdogs and can be expected to give a major upset to the to teams at a crucial stage. Asia Cup 2018 predictions are to watch for as many indicate India to be the likely winner. It will be their 7th Asia Cup title if the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team wins the prestigious championship.
