6 Teams, 13 matches, 13 days and ONE WINNER.
THE VACATION is over for the Indian cricketing boys – they have left to participate in the Asia Cup 2008, which will take off in Pakistan from June 24. The finals will be played in Karachi on the July 6. Can the Indian captain, MS Dhoni and his boys pull off another win like the T-20 World Cup?
India last won the Asia Cup in 1994-95 and Dhoni will be hoping to lift it after 14 long years. Though he has a well knit team, can he and his boys repeat the feat of 1994-95?
There will be two venues – Karachi and Lahore. And a total of six teams. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the bigger ones with Bangladesh, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE) being the remaining three with leaner strength.
The teams will be in two groups as follows – Group A: Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka; Group B: India, Pakistan and Hong Kong While Bangladesh has made an impression of sorts in the international arena, Hong Kong and UAE are really amateurs. They will make up the crowd and, fulfill the basic and larger objective of promoting the game of cricket to newer places. Another advantage will be the chances on offer for the experienced players to create new world records like five wicket hauls or fastest 50s or centuries or the longest opening partnerships. In addition, this will also provide the bigger teams a platform to experiment with different combinations. Pakistan has already dropped Kamran Akmal due to his poor form and Mohammed Asif is expected to be back in the team after being exonerated of the charges of possessing drugs. They are high on confidence after the recent dramatic win against India in the tri-series Kitply Cup.
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On the Indian front, Sreesanth will not be in the team since he is nursing an injury. Other pacers could get a look-in and prove their usefulness. As for Sri Lanka, they had won the Asia Cup last time in 2004 and have experienced players on their side. Some of them are showing signs of aging, still it has its strengths and players like Sanath Jayasurya or Jayawardhene can wreak havoc on the opposition bowling – with Muralidharan as a wonder bowler, it is a formidable side.
New players are being groomed by all teams keeping the World Cup 2011 in mind, therefore the Asia Cup and other fixtures to follow will be interesting matches to watch. With the new rule of umpiring being tried out in the Sri Lanka series later, the ODIs will get a face lift if the suggestion is finally accepted to refer field disputes to the third umpire, when requested for by the players on the ground. It will revolutionise the way the game will be played provided the third umpire agrees to disagree with the on-field umpires when controversies are referred to him. .
The schedule for the Asia Cup 2008 is as under :
Wed 25th June Group A - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Lahore, Time : 15:00 IST, 10:00 GMT
Wed 25th June Group B - Hong Kong v India, Karachi, Time : 15:00 IST, 10:00 GMT
Thu 26th June Group A - Sri Lanka v UAE, Lahore, Time : 15:00 IST, 10:00 GMT
Thu 26th June Group B - India v Pakistan, Karachi, Time : 15:00 IST, 10:00 GMT
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Sat 28th June TBC v TBC, Karachi, A2 v B2 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
Sun 29th June TBC v TBC, Karachi A1 v B1 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
Mon 30th June TBC v TBC, Karachi A1 v A2 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
Wed 2nd July TBC v TBC, Karachi B1 v B2 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
Semi-Finals 1: Thu 3nd July TBC v TBC, Karachi, A1 v B2 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
Semi-Finals 2: Fri 4nd July TBC v TBC, Karachi, A2 v B1 Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT
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FINALS: Sun 6nd July - TBC v TBC, Karachi, Time : 16:00 IST, 11:00 GMT