The much-awaited Asia Cup schedule is out. India’s curtain-raiser match is on September 2 when they will lock horns against arch-nemesis Pakistan. The two neighbours will go up against each other once again on September 10 in a Super 4 encounter. (More Cricket News)
It would be the icing on the cake if the two teams qualify for the final, presenting fans with another opportunity to witness a mouth-watering clash on September 17 in Colombo.
The six-side ODI event will begin on August 30 when Pakistan face Nepal.
This time the continental event has two hosts. Pakistan is entrusted with the duty of hosting four games while nine other matches along with the final will take place in Sri Lanka. Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy and R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo are the chosen venues for the Sri Lankan leg of the tournament.
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The participants are grouped into two halves. India, Pakistan and Nepal constitute Group A while Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are placed in Group B.
In a tweet shared by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah, Pakistan is categorised as A1 and India as A2 irrespective of their place after the first round. If one of them doesn’t make the cut for Super 4s, Nepal will replace them.
Likewise, Sri Lanka are categorised as B1 and Bangladesh as B2. If either of them fails to go through, Afghanistan will take their position.
Earlier, India’s reluctance to tour Pakistan for the tournament led to its hybrid model. The PCB and the BCCI came to a mutual agreement which would allow Pakistan to host four matches and Sri Lanka the rest of the nine matches.
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Full schedule:
Group stage:
August 30: Pakistan vs Nepal, Multan
August 31: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Kandy
September 2: India vs Pakistan, Kandy
September 3: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Lahore
September 4: India vs Nepal, Kandy
September 5: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, Lahore
Super 4s stage:
September 6: A1 vs B2, Lahore
September 9: B1 vs B2, Colombo
September 10: A1 vs A2, Colombo
September 12: A2 vs B1, Colombo
September 14: A1 vs B1, Colombo
September 15: A2 vs B2, Colombo
September 17: Final, Colombo.
