Dubai 3rd September : The distinctiveness of the Asia Cup lies in the manner in which the tournament was designed, with the organisers going out of the way to provide the best value for money, not only for the people who will be watching the field, but as well for the fans who watch the games around the globe.In the second stage of the tournament that has six teams the top four teams -four teams – India and Pakistan from Group A as well as Afghanistan as well as Sri Lanka from Group B — have made it into the Super Four stage.
If there was no lack of excitement in the first stage of the group stage, we can expect lots of it in the Super Four matches begin later on Saturday with Sri Lanka set to play Afghanistan in Sharjah to follow by the match of the arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Dubai in a second blockbuster Sunday.
Instead of the usual semifinal stage, the organisers have made sure that teams progressing from the two groups will play against each one in the round-robin portion (Super 4.).The top two teams will meet in the final match of the tournament.The points earned from the stage of the group do not carry over to the Super Four stage.
India have claimed the top position in Group A after winning against Pakistan in the last over in their game, before defeating the Hong Kong challenge.
The second position belongs to Pakistan after their dominant 155-run win over Hong Kong on Friday, according to ICC.
Perhaps on the cusp of take the No.1 spot on the ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, Suryakumar Yadav has made an impressive debut to the event, scoring his 86 runs over two games at an average strike rate of 195.45.
At the other end , watching his assault, Virat Kohli, who is the leader of the tournament’s run total with 94 runs, is the top scorer among India batters with 94 runs, praised his teammate’s performance.
“I’ve witnessed a lot of games during our time playing in the IPL or when it’s played by other teams however it was my first time of being able to watch close.I was completely amazed,” said Kohli.
In the B Group, Afghanistan have accounted for both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, winning by seven and eight wickets in their respective matches.
The spinners in Afghanistan are performing at their threatening most effective, however the return of fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi has provided an additional element to the attack with three wickets for an economic cost of less than 4.69.The team seems to have made a turn after their series loss to Ireland and can provide an opportunity to mount an impressive tournament challenge.
Sri Lanka won the all-important match with Bangladesh to claim the second Super Four spot in Group B.They won by two wickets in the final over of their chase.
This means that an Afghanistan-Sri Lanka rematch will begin the Super Four phase on September 3 in Sharjah, with India facing Pakistan on the 4th of September in Dubai.
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