The Asia cup has come to an end and Sri Lanka have deservedly become champions of Asia for the 6th time. This Asia cup was entertaining as a lot of games went down to the wire and we got to see so good hard-fought cricket.
Sri Lanka pulled off the greatest of comebacks as they fought back after being thrashed by Afghanistan in the opening game of the Asia cup to win all their remaining matches and secure their 6th Asia cup title. This will be a big confidence boost for Sri Lanka as they still have to qualify for the World T20.
The favourites to win Pakistan and India have disappointed at different stages as they failed to capitalize on crucial moments during the tournament this ended in India crashing out in the super 4 and Pakistan falling 1step short as they ended the tournament as runners-up.
Afghanistan who were given more of a chance to win the tournament than Sri Lanka failed to capitalize on the early momentum they built as they lost all three super four matches to end up finishing as 4th in the tournament with India finishing 3rd.
The Asia cup has been a great tournament this year as we got to see a lot of competitive games going right down to the last 3 balls of the match. This tournament has been a great advertisement for Asian cricket.
What have teams gained or lost from the tournament
Sri Lanka have found a captain they can trust to lead them forward in white ball cricket and also a player in Bhanuka Rajapaksa who they can trust to stabilize the middle order and finish games for them. Their captain has also led from the front with the bat in hand making sure to capitalize on the platform set by the top order and finish off games with Rajapaksa. The Sri Lankan team has also managed to find some good seam bowlers who they can trust to perform and win games for them in Australia. Sri Lanka have gained a lot from this tournament yes, there is still a question on their upper middle order as players are struggling in those positions, but they will hope to find answers in the next few days as the deadline for the T20 world cup squad announcement nears.
Pakistan have been left with a lot of questions when it comes to their batting order as they have failed on numerous occasions during this tournament and the biggest concern will be batting positions no3 to no7 who are struggling big time. Pakistan have been heavily dependent on Rizwan to score this entire tournament as Babar was also Struggling and he has been assisted by the lower middle order in Nawaz, Shadab. Also bowlers Haris, Naseem and Dhani have chipped in with some handy runs which has helped them stay in most of their matches. Another concern will be Rizwan has not been able to take full advantage after getting himself in he has scored too slow and been at a run-a-ball or close to a runner ball which has created a lot of pressure on the Pakistani middle order.
Pakistan can big happy that their bowling stock is on a rise and they have got enough depth in that department especially fast bowlers.
India have left the tournament with questions on their lower middle order as they have only delivered in one match during this tournament and also their bowlers have struggled, and these two areas will need to be fixed if they are to challenge for the World T20. India can be pleased with Kohli, Rohit and Rahul gaining confidence in their batting especially Kohli as he had an excellent tournament and finished as 2nd highest run scorer. They have also found a bowler in Arshdeep who they can trust alongside Harshal and Bumrah to bowl at the death and close the innings of. India have some answers, and some are still unanswered
Afghanistan have gained a lot when it comes to their bowlers and also a few batters who they can bank on. Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are the two batters that they can bank on going forward and in the bowling department, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmad are two left-arm fast bowlers who they have found through this tournament. They still have a lot to do but I expect them to give their best in Australia
Bangladesh, they have left the tournament with a lot of questions as their senior batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has retired from T20 cricket which leaves a big void in their middle order to be filled and also, they need to find a wicketkeeper. The solution to this is Liton Das who was not part of the squad for this tournament. Bangladesh needs to get the player's behaviour right as well. This has been a big problem of late, the attitude of the team and team manager Khaled Mahmud. The way they have been reacting to defeat has not been good in the public eye and this is not helping the team at all. They need to address this if they are to build team unity as soon as possible.
Once a gain congratulations to Sri Lanka winners of the Asia cup 2022
Writer: Ebrahim Yusuf Omar
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