Asia Cup 2018: Rating the six teams on a scale of 1-10

In the Asia Cup 2018, six teams took part. Out of the 6 teams, Team India emerged victorious. On a scale of 1 to 10, here is the rating of the performances of the six teams who participated in the Asia Cup 2018.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka had a disastrous Asia Cup. They started the first match on a good note when Lasith Malinga took two wickets in the very first over of the tournament. That was followed by the injury to Tamim Iqbal. Everything was going Sri Lanka’s way and they seemed to be in total control.

But, that innings from Mushfiqur Rahim took the wind out of Sri Lanka’s sails. The bravery shown by Tamim Iqbal inspired the Bangladesh bowlers to a different level. The Bangladesh bowlers bundled out the Sri Lankans for 124 runs. Sri Lanka lost the match by 137 runs.

In their second group match against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka would have loved to win the toss and bat first. But it was Afghanistan who batted first and scored 249. That score seemed to be far too much for Sri Lanka as they crashed out for 158.

Sri Lanka had the shortest existence in this Asia Cup as they were knocked out on the third day of the tournament. The absence of Dinesh Chandimal didn’t help their cause.

For their poor performance in the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka get 3 on a scale of 10.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong were given ICC recognition for the Asia Cup alone. But, they didn’t do any harm to their future prospects by performing reasonably well in the Asia Cup.

Hong Kong’s first match against Pakistan went as per prediction when they lost to Pakistan by eight wickets.

It was in their second match against India, Hong Kong showed their mettle. They made India sweat for their win. Chasing a target of 286 for a win, Honk Kong were comfortably placed at 174 for no loss in 34 overs. There were some anxious faces among the Indian players and the fans. But once the opening partnership was broken, Hong Kong didn’t have the experience in the middle-order to pull off an upset. India won by a narrow margin of 26 runs.

The Hong Kong openers Nizakat Khan (92) and Anshuman Rath (73) displayed to the world what they were capable of doing. With more matches under their belt, Hong Kong could become the next Afghanistan.

For their improved performance against India, Hong Kong deserve 5 out of 10.

Pakistan

Before the tournament commenced, Pakistan were expected to sail through to the final without any fuss. There were talks going around about an India- Pakistan final. Everything was in Pakistan’s favor. It was after all their home ground and they knew the conditions better.

Their arch-rival India haven't played many matches in U.A.E. The other contender, Sri Lanka, was a depleted team. Pakistan never had any problem beating Bangladesh in the past. What was left to handle was minnows Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

As it turned out, Pakistan did win against the minnows Afghanistan and Hong Kong. But those were the only two wins that Pakistan could manage in the entire tournament. That too, it was a narrow win against Afghanistan by two wickets in the last over of the match. With a little bit of luck, Afghanistan could have terminated the Pakistan campaign then and there.

There was a lot of hype surrounding the match between India and Pakistan. Both teams were meeting after a long time and the emotions were rising high. But India dominated both the matches winning by eight and nine wickets respectively.

As a result of their last-over win against Afghanistan, Pakistan were in with a chance up to the last Super-Four match against Bangladesh. But, they lost that crucial match by 37 runs and crashed out of the tournament.

The poor form of their batsmen and their poor fielding were the main causes of their defeat. Sarfraz Ahmed had his problems in controlling his emotions and was batting at no. 4 which was too high a position for his batting abilities.

For their average performance in the Asia Cup, Pakistan deserve 5 out of 10.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh started the tournament on a high by winning their first match against Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 137 runs. But they lost their next two matches against Afghanistan and India. They were at the brink of elimination when they turned their campaign around.

In their Super Four match against Afghanistan, they were 87 for 5 before Mahmudullah (74) and Imrul Kayes(72) rescued them to reach 249.

Afghanistan were gallant in their chase and needed eight off the last over. It was now or never for both the teams as the loser had to go out of the tournament. It was then The Fizz, Mustafizur Rahman showed his bowling skills at the death. He gave away just four runs and Bangladesh won by three runs.

Bangladesh reserved their best against Pakistan in the virtual semi-final. They were reduced to 12 for 3 before Mushifiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun put on 144 runs for the fourth wicket. In the end, a target of 240 was beyond Pakistan’s reach and Bangladesh won by 37 runs to reach the final.

In the final, Bangladesh, asked to bat first, were comfortably placed at 120 for no loss in 20 overs. But their middle-order batsmen played reckless strokes and some crazy running between the wickets resulted in a below-par score of 222.

Bangladesh never gave up as they fought through till the very end. They made early breakthroughs with the ball. The pressure of chasing in the final was on India. When Dhoni got out with India needing still 62 runs, Bangladesh were on top. But they somehow allowed the game to slip out of their grab in that partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The match went down to the wire and to Bangladesh’s disappointment, Bangladesh lost the match in the last ball of the tournament.

Bangladesh very nearly won the Asia Cup even in the absence of their star players Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. Their captain Mashrafe Mortaza led by example and showed a lot of character in adversity.

For their indomitable spirit and fighting qualities, Bangladesh get 7 out of 10.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan were the giant-killers of Asia Cup 2018. They started their campaign in style winning both their group matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by huge margins. In the process, they eliminated Sri Lanka from the tournament.

In their Super-Four match against Pakistan, Afghanistan were almost there before Shoaib Malik took the game away from them in the last over. Against Bangladesh, the same thing happened and it was the turn of Mustafizur Rahman to stand in the way for Afghanistan. With those two heart-breaking losses, Afghanistan were sadly out of the tournament.

Even after those losses, Afghanistan showed tremendous fighting spirit when they met India. Mohammad Shahzad took the Indian attack apart scoring a century. The all-rounder Mohammad Nabi scored a fifty.

The Indian openers KL Rahul and Ambati Rayadu put on 110 runs. But, Afghanistan hung in there and when the opening partnership was broken, they slowly tightened the noose on the Indian batsmen. The Indians never expected this fight back from Afghanistan. The Indians were relieved to tie the match. However, it was a moral victory for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan were the most popular team in the Asia Cup. They provided a lot of entertainment to the spectators with their fearless brand of cricket. They were superb on the field. Their spinners Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb were remarkable. They won matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and very nearly gone past India and Pakistan.

For their daredevil approach and positive cricket, Afghanistan get 8 out of 10.

India

For Team India, it was a successful Asia Cup campaign. After the Hong Kong scare, India went on to thrash Pakistan twice and Bangladesh once before Afghanistan managed to hold onto a tie. India were the first team to qualify for the final.

The Indian opening batsmen Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were in tremendous form right through the tournament. They were the leading run scorers of the tournament. Their opening bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah were excellent both with the new and old ball.

The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were effective and economical. Dhoni, as always, was brilliant behind the stumps. The Indian fielding showed a lot of improvement during the course of the Asia Cup.

Rohit Sharma has been spot on with his bowling changes and showed his calmness under pressure. For their thorough performance in the Asia Cup 2018, Team India should get 10 out of 10. But in the last two matches that they played, India were not so dominant.

They should have won the match against Afghanistan which they tied. Again in the final, they were made to sweat for their win. The final could have gone either way and at no point of time, India were in control of the chase.

For their meticulous performance in the Asia Cup, Team India deserve 9 out of 10.