India and Pakistan clashes headline Asia Cup

Cricket365
July 24, 2018

India and Pakistan face the prospect of a rare ODI clash with each other during the upcoming Asia Cup competition.

The tournament has reverted back to an ODI event having been staged in the T20I format in 2016 to act as Preparation for the World T20 that followed soon after.

India and Pakistan do not maintain a normal bilateral relationship and seldom meet outside of ICC events due to political tensions between the neighbours.

The last meeting between the two was the blockbuster 2017 Champions Trophy final in England which Pakistan won comfortably.

The two are scheduled to meet each other on September 19 in Dubai, in what will be their first meeting in the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. India have faced Pakistan 26 times in the UAE, 24 times in Sharjah and twice in Abu Dhabi, with the latter dominating results with 19 wins.

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Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman and the UAE will take part in a qualifying tournament to determine which team will complete the three-team group that already contains India and Pakistan.

The other three-team group will be made up by Test nations Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

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The tournament is likely to see at least two Pakistan v India matches due to its unusual format that sees two teams progress from each group of three into a second round-robin phase before the top two teams contest the final on September 28.

The event had been set to be held in India but tensions with Pakistan led to the tournament being moved to the UAE, though The Emirates Cricket Board will rent the stadiums to the BCCI who will remain the official hosts.

The matches will be split between Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the former to stage the final.

Asia Cup 2018 full schedule

Group Stage
15 September – Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai)
16 September – Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai)
17 September – Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
18 September – India vs Qualifier (Dubai)
19 September – India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
20 September – Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Super Four
21 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
21 September – Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
23 September – Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
23 September – Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
25 September – Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai)
26 September – Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Final
28 September – Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai)