In yet another mouth-watering competition between the cricketing arch-rivals Pakistan and India, the two teams will come across each other in the 15th edition of Asia Cup 22 on August 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the Asia Cup schedule announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, the opening match of the tournament will be played between the hosts Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on August 27.
The six-team tournament will start on August 27 with the final to be played on September 11 where the teams will compete in the group stage followed by the Super 4 round and the final. The 15th edition of the Asia Cup will be played under the T20 format in anticipation of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2022 in October-November.
The defending champion India may clash with Pakistan for the second time in the tournament in the Super 4 round if both the teams top the group stage.
The Asia was originally scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka but the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) moved the tournament to UAE due to the ongoing economic crisis in the Sri Lanka. The UAE is the new venue but Sri Lanka will retain the hosting rights. The matches will be played in Dubai and Sharjah with 10 including the final out of the 13 matches to be played in Dubai while three matches will be played in Sharjah.
India, Pakistan and qualifier are included in Group A while Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have been placed in Group B. UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Hong Kong will play a qualifying round and the winner will join Pakistan and India in Group A. All the matches will be played at 1800 hours Gulf Standard Time (GST).
Following is the schedule of the tournament:
Saturday 27th August Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan Group B Dubai, Sunday 28th August India vs Pakistan Group A Dubai, Tuesday 30th August Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Group B Sharjah, Wednesday 31st August India vs Qualifier Group A Dubai, Thursday 1st September Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Group B Dubai, Friday 2nd September Pakistan vs Qualifier Group A Sharjah, Saturday 3rd SeptemberB1 vs B2 Super 4 Sharjah, Sunday 4th September A1 vs A2` Super 4 Dubai, Tuesday 6th SeptemberA1 vs B1 Super 4 Dubai, Wednesday 7th SeptemberA2 vs B2 Super 4 Dubai, Thursday 8th SeptemberA1 vs B2 Super 4Dubai, Friday 9th September B1 vs A2 Super 4Dubai, Sunday 11th September Final (1st Super 4 vs 2nd Super 4)Dubai.—AP
