Four nation Asia Cup cricket tournament kicks off in Sri Lanka
Asia Cup Cricket 2010 begins from 15 June in Sri Lanka. Four Asian teams: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh will take part in the event. Although the event is named Asia Cup, contesting teams are on the whole from South Asia. This will be the 10th edition of the tournament since its inauguration in 1984. The Asia Cup is an International ODI cricket tournament. It was introduced in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was established to promote goodwill among Asian countries. Initially it was scheduled biennially.
The inaugural tournament was held in Sharjah in 1984. It has been ruled by The International Cricket Council that all matches played for the Asia Cup have official One Day International (ODI) status. In the qualifying round, all the teams will be up against each other in a round-robin tournament for a berth in the final. Two teams with highest points in the qualifying round would head to the finals, which will occur on 24 June. All the matches of the tournament will be held day and night, scheduled at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has a chance to make a hat trick of the Asia Cup title, as it is the defending champion for the last 2 tournaments. Both India and Sri Lanka are the most successful teams in Asia Cup. Both the teams have lifted the trophy four times. Pakistan earned its Asia Cup title in 1986 when Sri Lanka was hosting the event for the first time. So far Sri Lanka has organized the Asia Cup 3 times maximum in the tournament. This year, Sri Lanka would most likely retain the title by taking advantage of their home grounds. Their recent ODI form is quite satisfactory.
They have won the tri-nation series held in Bangladesh earlier this year beating India in the final. Sri Lanka also qualified for the semi final of the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2010 in West Indies. So far Sri Lanka has played total 36 matches in Asia Cup with a win-loss ratio of 26-10. Sri Lanka has reached every final of Asia Cup since its beginning.
Current form of India - the losing finalists of the last 2 tournaments; may not be that much great, but the ‘men in blue’ would try to make the title in their name and definitely have the potential. Four times Asian Champions had their last Asia Cup title in 1995. India has played 32 Asia Cup matches with a win-loss ratio of 19-12 while one match ended with no result. India reached in every final of Asia Cup except the 1986, 1993 and 2000 cups.
Pakistan’s recent ODI form is not up to the mark. The mighty Kangaroos in a 5-match ODI series beat them in January this year. At the same time Pakistan’s cricket team is confronting match fixing allegations and many other internal issues. Furthermore the Green Shirts failed to defend their T20 World Champs title. So far in Asia Cup, Pakistan has played total 28 matches with a win-loss ratio of 17-10 while one match ended with no result.
Bangladesh would step in the 2010 Asia Cup with an underdog tag. They lost to the Kiwis and English in the ODI series this year. Moreover their performance in the just concluded twenty20 world cup was not satisfactory. At the same time, they can cause upsets. They have played total 26 Asia Cup matches with a win-loss ratio 2-24. The schedule of 2010 Asia cup has been confirmed. The opening match would be played between defending champion Sri Lanka and Pakistan on June 15 in Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Sri Lanka. The final match would be played on the same ground on 24th June on the same ground.
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