The 2018 Asia Cup (also known as Unimoni Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] was a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that was held in the United Arab Emirates in September 2018.[2] It was the 14th edition of the Asia Cup and the third time the tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates, after the 1984 and 1995 tournaments. India were the defending champions,[3] and retained their title, after beating Bangladesh by three wickets in the final.[4]

2018 Asia Cup
Dates15 September – 28 September
Administrator(s)Asian Cricket Council
Cricket formatOne Day International
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Host(s)United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Champions India (7th title)
Runners-up Bangladesh
Participants6
Matches13
Player of the seriesIndia Shikhar Dhawan
Most runsIndia Shikhar Dhawan (342)
Most wicketsAfghanistan Rashid Khan (10)
Bangladesh Mustafizur Rahman (10)
India Kuldeep Yadav (10)
2016
2022

The five full members of the Asian Cricket Council took part in the tournament: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They were joined by Hong Kong, who won the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament.[5] Hong Kong had lost their ODI status after finishing tenth in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in March.[6][7] However, on 9 September 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded ODI status to all matches in the tournament.[8]

Background

edit

Originally, the tournament was scheduled to be played in India.[9][10] It was moved to the United Arab Emirates, following ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.[2]

On 29 October 2015, following the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Singapore, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary stated that the 2018 edition of the tournament would be held in India.[11] In August 2017, the BCCI sought government clearance to host the tournament, after the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup was moved to Malaysia.[12] In April 2018, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, asked if the BCCI and ACC would consider hosting the tournament in Abu Dhabi, in a bid to ensure Pakistan's participation.[13]

Pakistan were scheduled to host the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup ahead of the tournament in April.[14] With the announcement that the Asia Cup would be played in the United Arab Emirates, the Emerging Teams Asia Cup was moved to December 2018, with Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament with Pakistan.[2]

Format

edit

The schedule and format of the tournament was announced on 24 July 2018, with the six teams split into two groups of three.[15] The top two teams from each of the groups progressed to the Super Four section of the tournament.[15] From there, the top two teams of the Super Four section played each other in the final.[15] Initially, the team that finishes second in Group A were scheduled to play their first Super Four game in Abu Dhabi. However, India would be based in Dubai, irrespective of where they finish in the pool.[16] On 19 September 2018, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) revised the schedule for the Super Four section[17] The captains of Bangladesh and Pakistan were both critical of the ACC's new schedule.[18][19]

Teams

edit

Squads

edit
  Afghanistan[20] (12)   Bangladesh[21] (11)   Hong Kong[22] (19)   India[23] (1)   Pakistan[24] (8)   Sri Lanka[25] (3)

Before the start of the tournament, Wafadar Momand was ruled out of Afghanistan's squad due to injury and was replaced by Yamin Ahmadzai,[26] and Mominul Haque was added to Bangladesh's squad.[27] Dinesh Chandimal and Danushka Gunathilaka were ruled out of Sri Lanka's squad due to injury. They were replaced by Niroshan Dickwella and Shehan Jayasuriya respectively.[28][29] Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal suffered a wrist injury in the opening match and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament.[30]

After the conclusion of the India-Pakistan match in the group stage, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Shardul Thakur were all ruled out of India's squad for the rest of the tournament due to injuries. They were replaced by Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, and Siddarth Kaul.[31] At the Super Four stage of the tournament, Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes were added to Bangladesh's squad.[32] Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of Bangladesh's final Super Four match, and the rest of the tournament, due to an injury he initially sustained in January 2018, during the final of the Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series.[33]

Match officials

edit

The ICC appointed the following umpires and match referees for all thirteen matches. Six match officiating umpires were from participating countries of the Asia Cup who are the members of ICC International Panel of Umpires, four umpires were from neutral countries, while the remaining two umpires belonged to the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires.[34]

Match Referees

Venues

edit
United Arab Emirates
Dubai Abu Dhabi
Dubai International Cricket Stadium Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium
Coordinates: 25°2′48″N 55°13′8″E / 25.04667°N 55.21889°E / 25.04667; 55.21889 Coordinates: 24°23′47″N 54°32′26″E / 24.39639°N 54.54056°E / 24.39639; 54.54056
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 20,000
Matches: 8 Matches: 5
   

Group stage

edit

Bangladesh faced Sri Lanka in the opening game of the tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.[35] It was Bangladesh's first match in the United Arab Emirates since April 1995, when they faced Pakistan in the 1995 Asia Cup.[36]

In Group B, Sri Lanka were eliminated from the tournament, after losing both of their matches. Therefore Afghanistan and Bangladesh progressed to the Super Four section of the competition.[37][38] In Group A, Hong Kong also lost both of their matches, meaning that India and Pakistan progressed to the Super Fours.[39]

Group A

edit
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR
1   India 2 2 0 0 0 4 1.474
2   Pakistan 2 1 1 0 0 2 0.284
3   Hong Kong 2 0 2 0 0 0 −1.748
Source: ESPNCricinfo
16 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Hong Kong  
116 (37.1 overs)
v
  Pakistan
120/2 (23.4 overs)
Aizaz Khan 27 (47)
Usman Khan 3/19 (7.3 overs)
Imam-ul-Haq 50* (69)
Ehsan Khan 2/34 (8 overs)
Pakistan won by 8 wickets
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Shaun George (SA) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Usman Khan (Pak)
  • Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Babar Azam (Pak) became the joint second-fastest, in terms of innings, to reach 2,000 runs in ODIs.[40]

18 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
India  
285/7 (50 overs)
v
  Hong Kong
259/8 (50 overs)
Shikhar Dhawan 127 (120)
Kinchit Shah 3/39 (9 overs)
Nizakat Khan 92 (115)
Yuzvendra Chahal 3/46 (10 overs)
India won by 26 runs
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Anisur Rahman (Ban) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Player of the match: Shikhar Dhawan (Ind)

19 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Pakistan  
162 (43.1 overs)
v
  India
164/2 (29 overs)
Babar Azam 47 (62)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3/15 (7 overs)
Rohit Sharma 52 (39)
Shadab Khan 1/6 (1.3 overs)
India won by 8 wickets
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)
Player of the match: Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Ind)
  • Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • This was India's biggest win, in terms of balls remaining, against Pakistan in ODIs (126).[41]

Group B

edit
Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR
1   Afghanistan 2 2 0 0 0 4 2.270
2   Bangladesh 2 1 1 0 0 2 0.010
3   Sri Lanka 2 0 2 0 0 0 −2.280
Source: ESPNCricinfo
15 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Bangladesh  
261 (49.3 overs)
v
  Sri Lanka
124 (35.2 overs)
Mushfiqur Rahim 144 (150)
Lasith Malinga 4/23 (10 overs)
Dilruwan Perera 29 (44)
Mustafizur Rahman 2/20 (6 overs)
Bangladesh won by 137 runs
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind)
Player of the match: Mushfiqur Rahim (Ban)
  • Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
  • This was Sri Lanka's lowest total against Bangladesh in ODIs.[42]

17 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Afghanistan  
249 (50 overs)
v
  Sri Lanka
158 (41.2 overs)
Rahmat Shah 72 (90)
Thisara Perera 5/55 (9 overs)
Upul Tharanga 36 (64)
Rashid Khan 2/26 (7.2 overs)
Afghanistan won by 91 runs
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Ahsan Raza (Pak)
Player of the match: Rahmat Shah (Afg)
  • Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • This was Sri Lanka's first loss against Afghanistan in ODIs.[37]

20 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Afghanistan  
255/7 (50 overs)
v
  Bangladesh
119 (42.1 overs)
Hashmatullah Shahidi 58 (92)
Shakib Al Hasan 4/42 (10 overs)
Shakib Al Hasan 32 (55)
Rashid Khan 2/13 (9 over)
Afghanistan won by 136 runs
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Umpires: Nitin Menon (Ind) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Player of the match: Rashid Khan (Afg)

Super Four

edit

In the penultimate round of Super Four matches, India beat Pakistan by nine wickets and Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by three runs. Therefore, India progressed to the final of the tournament and Afghanistan were eliminated.[43][44] In the final Super Four match, Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs to advance to the final.[45]

In India's last Super Four match, against Afghanistan, captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan were both rested for the match. MS Dhoni was named captain of the side in their absence, and became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs.[46] Dhoni became the oldest player to lead India in an ODI.[47] The match finished in a tie, the first time this had occurred in the Asia Cup.[47] It was also the first time that Afghanistan were involved in a tied game in ODIs.[47]

Pos Team Pld W L T NR Pts NRR
1   India 3 2 0 1 0 5 0.863
2   Bangladesh 3 2 1 0 0 4 −0.156
3   Pakistan 3 1 2 0 0 2 −0.599
4   Afghanistan 3 0 2 1 0 1 −0.044
Source: ESPNCricinfo
21 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Bangladesh  
173 (49.1 overs)
v
  India
174/3 (36.2 overs)
Mehedi Hasan 42 (50)
Ravindra Jadeja 4/29 (10 overs)
Rohit Sharma 83* (104)
Rubel Hossain 1/21 (5 overs)
India won by 7 wickets
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Ahsan Raza (Pak)
Player of the match: Ravindra Jadeja (Ind)
  • India won the toss and elected to field.

21 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Afghanistan  
257/6 (50 overs)
v
  Pakistan
258/7 (49.3 overs)
Hashmatullah Shahidi 97* (118)
Mohammad Nawaz 3/57 (10 overs)
Imam-ul-Haq 80 (104)
Rashid Khan 3/46 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 3 wickets
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Shaun George (SA)
Player of the match: Shoaib Malik (Pak)
  • Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Shaheen Afridi (Pak) made his ODI debut.

23 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Pakistan  
237/7 (50 overs)
v
  India
238/1 (39.3 overs)
Shoaib Malik 78 (90)
Jasprit Bumrah 2/29 (10 overs)
Shikhar Dhawan 114 (100)
India won by 9 wickets
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Player of the match: Shikhar Dhawan (Ind)
  • Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Yuzvendra Chahal (Ind) took his 50th wicket in ODIs.[48]
  • Rohit Sharma (Ind) scored his 7,000th run in ODIs.[49]
  • Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan's partnership of 210 was India's highest — while batting second, against Pakistan and in their Asia Cup history — for the first wicket.[50]
  • This was India's biggest win against Pakistan in terms of wickets (9).[50]

23 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Bangladesh  
249/7 (50 overs)
v
  Afghanistan
246/7 (50 overs)
Mahmudullah 74 (81)
Aftab Alam 3/54 (10 overs)
Bangladesh won by 3 runs
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Nitin Menon (Ind)
Player of the match: Mahmudullah (Ban)

25 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Afghanistan  
252/8 (50 overs)
v
  India
252 (49.5 overs)
Mohammad Shahzad 124 (116)
Ravindra Jadeja 3/46 (10 overs)
KL Rahul 60 (66)
Mohammad Nabi 2/40 (10 overs)
Match tied
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WI) and Anisur Rahman (Ban)
Player of the match: Mohammad Shahzad (Afg)
  • Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Deepak Chahar (Ind) made his ODI debut.
  • MS Dhoni (Ind) played in his 200th ODI as captain.[52]
  • This was the first tied ODI in the history of the Asia Cup and the first tied ODI featuring Afghanistan.[47]

26 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Bangladesh  
239 (48.5 overs)
v
  Pakistan
202/9 (50 overs)
Mushfiqur Rahim 99 (116)
Junaid Khan 4/19 (9 overs)
Imam-ul-Haq 83 (105)
Mustafizur Rahman 4/43 (10 overs)
Bangladesh won by 37 runs
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Umpires: Shaun George (SA) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (Ind)
Player of the match: Mushfiqur Rahim (Ban)
  • Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat.
  • This was Bangladesh's first win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in ODIs.[53]

Final

edit
28 September 2018
15:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Bangladesh  
222 (48.3 overs)
v
  India
223/7 (50 overs)
Litton Das 121 (117)
Kuldeep Yadav 3/45 (10 overs)
Rohit Sharma 48 (55)
Rubel Hossain 2/26 (10 overs)
India won by 3 wickets
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (SA) and Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)
Player of the match: Litton Das (Ban)
  • India won the toss and elected to field.
  • Litton Das (Ban) scored his first century in ODIs.[54]

Statistics

edit

Most runs

edit
Player Innings Runs Average SR HS
  Shikhar Dhawan 5 342 68.40 102.08 127
  Rohit Sharma 5 317 105.66 93.51 111*
  Mushfiqur Rahim 5 302 60.40 81.18 144
  Mohammad Shahzad 5 268 53.60 83.23 124
  Hashmatullah Shahidi 5 263 65.75 72.25 97*
Source: [55]

Most wickets

edit
Player Innings Wickets Overs BBI Econ.
  Rashid Khan 5 10 46.1 46/3 3.72
  Mustafizur Rahman 5 10 42 45/4 4.4
  Kuldeep Yadav 5 10 58 45/3 4.08
  Jasprit Bumrah 4 8 34.5 37/3 3.67
  Ravindra Jadeja 4 7 35 29/4 4.45
Source: [56]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ MS Dhoni captained India in last match against Afghanistan in Super 4 stage.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Unimoni to title sponsor UAE's Asia Cup". SportBusiness Group. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "2018 Asia Cup moved from India to UAE". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  3. ^ "India to host Asia Cup 2018 in UAE". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  4. ^ "India creep home in final-over thriller to defend Asia Cup title". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong hold their nerve to clinch Asia Cup berth". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Norman Vanua, Charles Amini help PNG defend 200". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Asia Cup participation highlights the ironies of Hong Kong's ODI existence". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  8. ^ "ICC awards Asia Cup ODI status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Future Tours Programme" (PDF). International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  10. ^ "IPL now has window in ICC Future Tours Programme". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  11. ^ "2016 Asia Cup in Bangladesh, 2018 in India: Thakur". The Times of India.
  12. ^ "BCCI to seek government clearance to host 2018 Asia Cup in India after losing rights for U-19 event". FirstPost. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  13. ^ "UAE Sheikh asks BCCI, ACC to stage Asia Cup in the Gulf". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Pakistan to host Emerging Asia Cup in 2018". Wisden India. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  15. ^ a b c "Asia Cup 2018: No break for India in group stage; will face qualifier and Pakistan on consecutive days". Times Of India. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Sarfraz miffed by skewed Asia Cup scheduling". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  17. ^ "ACC releases new schedule for Super Four stage of Asia Cup". Geo TV. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Sarfraz, Mortaza Unhappy With Super Fours Schedule". News18. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Even a mad person would be upset, says Mash on fixture change". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Afghanistan pick four spinners for Asia Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque in Bangladesh squad for Asia Cup 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Anshuman Rath to lead Hong Kong into the 2018 Unimoni Asia Cup". Hong Kong Cricket. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  23. ^ "India rest Virat Kohli for Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma to lead; uncapped Khaleel Ahmed called up". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Shaheen Afridi included in Pakistan squad for Asia Cup 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Lasith Malinga recalled for Asia Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  26. ^ "Wafadar ruled out of Asia Cup". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  27. ^ "Asia cup UAE 2018: Mominul Haque included in Bangladesh Squad". Bangladesh Cricket Board. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Dinesh Chandimal ruled out of Asia Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Shehan Jayasuriya replaces injured Danushka gunathilaka in Sri Lanka's Asia Cup squad". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Tamim Iqbal ruled out of Asia Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  31. ^ "Hardik, Axar, Shardul all out of Asia Cup with injury". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  32. ^ "Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes added to Bangladesh's Asia Cup squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  33. ^ "Injured Shakib Al Hasan flies home after being ruled out of Asia Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  34. ^ "ICC Umpire Appointments for Asia Cup 2018", International Cricket Council, retrieved 21 September 2018
  35. ^ "Asia Cup 2018 Revealed: Asia Cup Schedule". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  36. ^ "Akila, Chandimal absence gives slight edge to Bangladesh". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  37. ^ a b "Afghanistan knock Sri Lanka out of the Asia Cup". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  38. ^ "Rahmat, spinners knock Sri Lanka out of Asia Cup". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  39. ^ a b "Hong Kong give India a scare, but Dhawan century proves just enough". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  40. ^ "Red-hot Pakistan swat Hong Kong aside". CricBuzz. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  41. ^ "Bhuvneshwar, Jadhav's three-wicket hauls set up easy win for India". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  42. ^ "Bangladesh pull off their biggest ODI win away from home". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  43. ^ "Bangladesh edge out Afghanistan in last-ball thriller". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  44. ^ "Mustafizur defends seven in last over to knock out Afghanistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  45. ^ "Bangladesh stun Pakistan to reach Asia Cup final and set up showdown with India". The National. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  46. ^ "Asia Cup 2018: MS Dhoni creates history, leads India for 200th time". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  47. ^ a b c d "Asia Cup 2018: Super-4s, Match 5, India vs Afghanistan – Statistical Highlights". Crictracker. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  48. ^ "Dhawan and Sharma make short work of Pakistan". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  49. ^ "Rohit Sharma completes 7000 runs in ODI". India Blooms. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  50. ^ a b "India's biggest win by wickets against Pakistan". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  51. ^ "Asia Cup 2018, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan: Statistical highlights of AFG innings". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  52. ^ "MS Dhoni captains India for 200th time in one-day internationals". India Today. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  53. ^ "Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman lift Bangladesh into Asia Cup final". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  54. ^ "Asia Cup 2018 final: Liton Das slams maiden ODI hundred". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  55. ^ "Asia Cup 2018 — Most Runs — Records". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  56. ^ "Asia Cup 2022 — Most Wickets — Records". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
edit