Asia Cup 2018 memories: Cricket was the ultimate winner

Lackluster India-Pakistan encounter

There was a lot of hype before the group match between India and Pakistan. But the performance of the Pakistani batsmen did not live up to the expectations. Pakistan were bundled out for 164 and India won the match quite convincingly by 8 wickets. The only negative for India in this match was the injury to Hardik Pandya but it resulted in the welcome return of Ravindra Jadeja into the one day team.

The emergence of Rashid Khan, the all-rounder

We all knew the Afghanistan star Rashid Khan could swing his bat around. But in the match against Bangladesh, Rashid scored a fifty when his team was in deep trouble. Rashid Khan followed that up with a bowling spell of 9-3-13-2 as Afghanistan successfully completed their second giant-killing act.

At that time, everyone thought Afghanistan were through and it was the end of the road for Bangladesh. How horribly wrong we were.

Rashid Khan - The most popular player of Asia Cup 2018

The return of Jaddu

The first super four match between India and Bangladesh witnessed the return of Ravindra Jadeja to white ball cricket. Jadeja made an immediate impact on his return by claiming 4 wickets. As far as the match was concerned, it was another one-sided affair. India, on the back of an innings of 83 not out from Captain Rohit Sharma, won the match quite easily.

Heartbreak for Afghanistan

It was smooth sailing for Afghanistan in the group stages of Asia Cup. They crushed Sri Lanka by 91 runs and Bangladesh by 136 runs. With their improved performances in the group stages, in their super four matches against Pakistan, Afghanistan were expected to give them a run for their money.

While Afghanistan ended up running Pakistan close, it was the presence of the experienced Shoaib Malik in the middle which saved the day for the Men in Green. For Afghanistan, it was heartbreak having lost the match in the last over.