Recently, from August 27, 2022 - September 11, 2022, the Asia Cup happened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Asia Cup is a cricket tournament that happens every two years. This year, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh participated.
Understanding Cricket
In cricket, the objective is to have more runs than the opposing team. There are two teams - fielding and batting - although they swap. The batting team, which only has two people on the pitch at a time, has to hit the ball and score runs. The fielding team has to throw the ball to the batting team (for the batting team to hit), and they (the fielding team) need to catch and return the ball back to the pitch.
The field is where cricket is played, and the pitch is the strip of land where the batters hit. The batters have to run the length of the pitch and reach before the ball is returned. By doing this, they would score one run. If the ball they bat hits the boundary of the field, it scores them four runs, and if it goes beyond that, that’s six.
If the ball is caught by someone from the fielding team before it touches the ground, only the batter is out. If the ball is returned before the batting team has reached the end of the pitch, they’re also out. On the batting end of the pitch, there are three sticks, called wickets, and a wicket keeper (from the fielding team). If the ball hits any three of the wickets, the batter is out. If the ball touches the bat and the wicket keeper catches it, the batter is out.
There are eleven people per team. There are six balls in one over. The Asia Cup was played in T20 format, which means that once 20 overs are done, the teams switch. However, if all the batters are out before 20 overs are up, then they should swap. When overs are projected, the decimals points are out of 6. For example, 6.3 overs done would mean 6 overs (36 balls) + 3 balls, which is 39.
The Asia Cup
In the 2022 Asia Cup, there were 13 matches. In the first, it was Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan. Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bowl first. Sri Lanka played 105 runs in 19.5 overs, while Afghanistan won by 8 wickets, with 106 runs in 10.1 overs and 59 balls to spare.
For the second match, India played Pakistan and won the toss, choosing to bowl first. Pakistan got 147 runs with 19.5 overs, while India won by 5 wickets, with 148 runs at 19.4 overs, with 2 balls to spare.
In the third match, Bangladesh won the toss against Afghanistan, and opted to bat first. While Bangladesh got 127 runs in 20 overs, Afghanistan won by 7 wickets, with 131 runs in 18.3 overs, with 19 balls to spare.
In the fourth match, Hong Kong won the toss against India and chose to bowl. Hong Kong scored 152 runs in 20 overs, and India won with 192 runs in 20 overs, with zero balls to spare.
For the fifth match, Sri Lanka won the toss against Bangladesh and chose to bowl. Bangladesh got 183 runs in all 20 overs, while Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets, with 184 runs in 19.2 overs and 4 balls to spare.
For the sixth and last match in the Group stage, Hong Kong won the toss against Pakistan and opted to field. Hong Kong got 38 runs in 10.4 runs, and Pakistan won with 193 runs in 20 overs
The Final Four
Hong Kong and Bangladesh didn’t make it to the final four, but India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan did. In the first match of six, Sri Lanka won the toss against Afghanistan and chose to bowl. Afghanistan got 175 runs in 20 overs, while Sri Lanka won by 4 wickets, with 179 runs in 19.1 overs and 5 balls to spare.
In the second match, Pakistan won the toss against India and chose to field. India scored 181 runs in 20 overs, while Pakistan won by 5 wickets, with 182 runs in 19.5 overs and one ball to spare.
In the third match, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to field. India got 173 runs in 20 overs, while Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets, with 174 runs in 19.5 overs, with one ball to spare.
In the fourth match, Pakistan won the toss against Afghanistan, and chose to field. Afghanistan scored 129 runs in 20 overs, while Pakistan won by 1 wicket, with 131 runs at 19.2 overs and 4 balls to spare. Afghanistan won the toss against India, and chose to bowl first. Afghanistan scored 111 runs in 20 overs, while India won with 212 runs in 20 overs.
In the last Super 4 match, Sri Lanka won the toss against Pakistan. Pakistan scored 121 runs in 19.1 overs, while Sri Lanka won with 124 runs in 17 overs, winning by 5 wickets. India and Afghanistan didn’t make it to the final, which was Pakistan against Sri Lanka. Afghanistan ranked fourth, while India ranked third.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Battle for the Cup
The final, like all other matches, was also a T20. Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. Pakistan scored 147 runs in 20 overs. Sri Lanka scored 170 runs in 20 overs. Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup by 23 runs. The ranking of all the countries in increasing order: Bangladesh/Hong Kong, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka won, with Pakistan coming in second and India in third.
While Pakistan still came in second place, there’s some debate about how their strategy might not be optimal for Pakistan. Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan have scored more than 60% of Pakistan’s runs in all T20s since the start of last year’s World Cup. Rizwan top scored in the Asia Cup, but he struck at only 117, which brings up a bigger issue about strike rates. In the final, he played 22 deliveries while striking at 72. While Babar Azam is also an accomplished player, as a pair with Rizwan, their run rate is the second lowest among all full members. There’s still much debate about whether they should be separated as a team, but it’ll probably show. In future matches, India has a strong chance of winning if they continue with this strategy.
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