Asia Cup 2022: 3 reasons why India will win the Asia Cup and 2 reasons why they won't

Team India got their 2022 Asia Cup campaign off to a flying start, thumping arch-rivals Pakistan by five wickets in Dubai on Sunday (August 28).

Rohit Sharma and Co. rode on the brilliance of Hardik Pandya, who contributed with both bat and ball to bludgeon the opposition out of the game. The Baroda all-rounder returned figures of 3/25 in his four overs before scoring an unbeaten 17 ball-33 to take his team over the line.

Considering how close they are to the 2022 T20 World Cup, the Men in Blue would like to get their preparations right as they aim to win the elusive trophy a second time.

With the Asia Cup being the closest they can get to a multi-nation tournament before the World Cup, India will definitely be gunning to win it for a record eighth time.

On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why they will win the 2022 Asia Cup and two reasons why they won't:

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#1 Virat Kohli's return to form

Virat Kohli has had a rough time in the middle of late. The once indomitable batter hasn't scored a century in almost three years - something that's an aberration by his standards.

Luckily for the fans, Kohli has started the Asia Cup on a positive note and will look to build on that from here. The right-handed batter scored a patient 34-ball 35 against Pakistan and followed that up with a brilliant fifty against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31).

It's a no-brainer that having a batter of his stature in form will be a big boost for India and will better their prospects of winning the tournament.

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#2 Middle order among runs

India have been plagued by the inconsistency of their middle-order batters. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case so far in the UAE, with the likes of Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in top form with the willow.

While Pandya blasted a quickfire 33 against Pakistan, Jadeja was the epitome of calmness as he played second fiddle to the Baroda all-rounder en route to his 29 ball-35.

Yadav, meanwhile, tore the Hong Kong bowlers apart with a 26-ball 68 as the Men in Blue went on to set a target of 193 in 20 overs.

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#3 The stats are in India's favor

Team India have been the most successful side in the Asia Cup, having won it seven times. Although nothing is guaranteed in the gentleman's game, their immaculate record in the tournament will certainly boost the morale of the defending champions.

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#4 Why they won't - Form of the openers

India have achieved some memorable milestones in recent times at the international level, riding on the backs of their openers. Skipper Rohit Sharma has been a vital cog in the team and has often single-handedly taken the game away from the opposition in the past.

The same can be said about KL Rahul, who has been instrumental in giving the Men in Blue crucial starts. However, both batters find themselves in a bit of a slump.

Following a quiet IPL 2022 season, Rohit would have hoped to get some runs under his belt in the shortest format. However, as luck would have it, he couldn't get going in either match in the Asia Cup, scoring 12 and 21, respectively.

Rahul, who is returning from a long hiatus from cricket due to injuries and COVID-19, is yet to find his rhythm in the tournament. The Karnataka batter got out for a duck against Pakistan only to score a 39-ball 36 against Hong Kong.

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#5 Why they won't - Inexperienced bowling lineup

The Indian team are without the services of two of their premier fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami. In their absence, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the pack of quicks.

While the Uttar Pradesh bowler is a T20 veteran, the same can't be said about the other two seamers in the squad. Both Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh have been impressive in the IPL, but are yet to get considerable exposure at the international level.

To make things worse, both leaked runs against Pakistan. While Avesh conceded 19 runs in two overs, Arshdeep got taken for 33 runs in three overs.