Five things to discuss after the Asia Cup, including Sri Lanka’s shock victory and the return of Virat Kohli
Five things to discuss after the Asia Cup, including Sri Lanka’s shock victory and the return of Virat Kohli: Sri Lanka won their sixth Asia Cup on Sunday by beating Pakistan by 23 runs in Dubai. Let’s look at five things we learned from the six-country tournament, which was a warm-up for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia next month.
Sri Lankan Triumph
Experts didn’t think Sri Lanka had much of a chance of making the Super Four after their first game, which they lost embarrassingly badly to Afghanistan. However, they won their next five games and won the Asia Cup.
Sri Lanka beat India in the Super Four and then beat Pakistan twice. This gave the young team confidence going into the T20 World Cup in Australia, where they will have to go through a qualifying round.
But Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who scored 71 runs without being out in the final, said he thought a refreshed Sri Lanka could use the momentum from winning the Asia Cup to go on further for the bigger picture.
Naseem Shah’s Glory
Shaheen Afridi was hurt and couldn’t lead Pakistan’s fast bowling attack, but a young Shah named Naseem stepped up.
The 19-year-fast old’s bowling got him seven wickets in five games, and he was also a game-winner with the bat. His two last-over sixes helped his team beat Afghanistan in a thrilling game that put them in the final.
Shah ended the Asia Cup in typical fashion by taking a wicket in the first over of Sunday’s final. After Pakistan captain, Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bowl, Shah took out Kusal Mendis’ off stump in a spectacular way.
The King’s Comeback
Fakhar Zaman of Pakistan dropped Virat Kohli on 0 with the second ball he faced in the Asia Cup. However, the former India captain made the most of this break.
Kohli finished the tournament with 276 runs at an average of 92. His 122 runs without being out against Afghanistan were his first for India in any format since November 2019. It was also his first Twenty20 international score of 100 or more.
Kohli’s long slump had become a big topic of conversation, but after taking a month off from cricket before the Asia Cup, he came back fresh and put an end to the talk.
Kohli also hit two fifties in his five innings, and his Asia Cup total was only beat by Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, whose 55 in the final put him ahead with 281 runs from six games.
The Fiery Afghans
In the first match, Mohammad Nabi’s team showed how good they were at white-ball cricket by bowling out the eventual winners, Sri Lanka, for 105 runs. Afghanistan won the game by eight wickets with almost 10 overs to spare.
Then, Afghanistan beat Bangladesh badly, and in the Super Four, they gave Pakistan a big scare before losing by one wicket in the last over of a heated match.
Most of the team learned how to play cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan, and since getting Test status in 2017, they have come a long way.
Nabi said they would “come back stronger” for the T20 World Cup, where Afghanistan will try to upset the established cricket powers.
Shakib’s Return
All-round player Shakib Al Hasan went back to being captain after giving in to a demand from the Bangladesh Cricket Board that he end a deal with a betting site.
But his presence didn’t help Bangladesh’s terrible T20 record, as they lost their group games to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka and didn’t make it to the Super Four.
Shakib got 1-13 with his left-arm spin against Afghanistan and then scored 24 in Bangladesh’s loss to Sri Lanka. This was Bangladesh’s 15th T20 loss in their last 16 games, but Shakib said his team had a “plan in place” to get better.