Asia Cup 2018: Qualification scenarios for all four teams

The Asia Cup 2018 has been a successful tournament so far as it saw a lot of competitive matches over the last one week. They were upsets, thrilling contest, fantastic knocks by the batsmen, fiery spell by the bowlers etc.

The tournament is set to enter its last stage as the teams have already played their first two Super Four games. With the final round matches still to go, the top two teams from this stage will qualify for the final which will be played at the Dubai international stadium in Dubai on September 28.

The finalists are yet to be confirmed and there is a virtual semi-final in the final round matches. Let us take a look at the teams need to do to qualify for the finals.

---

Afghanistan

Afghanistan have zero points from two games in the Super Four stage

Afghanistan surprised everyone by qualifying for the Super Four as they beat stronger teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the group stage of the tournament.

Their inexperience was clearly visible in the Super Four stage as they almost won both their games in the round as they failed to hold their nerves in the fag end of the match and ended up losing both their matches.

In the first game against Pakistan, they were having the upper hand till the final over of the Pakistan innings as Shoaib Malik hit over 10 runs off Aftab Alam's over to seal the game for his side.

In the second game, Afghanistan were the favourites to beat Bangladesh as just eight runs were needed off the last over with Samiullah Shenwari and Rashid Khan at the crease. But, Mustafizur Rahman held his nerve and defended the score and handed his team a three-run win.

With these defeats, Afghanistan are yet to open their account in the Super Four and already knocked out of the tournament. They are fourth in the table with zero points and in spite of that, they have the second-best NRR among the four at -0.065.

Playing India in their final match of the tournament, Afghanistan will look to end a memorable tournament for them in style by getting the better of the best team of the tournament.

Played: 2

Won: 0

Lost: 2

NRR: -0.065

India

India have four points from two games in the Super Four stage

In their first two Super Four games, India beat Bangladesh comprehensively by seven wickets and followed it up with a massive nine-wicket over Pakistan.

With these two wins, India have four points and are already through to the final, which will be taking place in the Dubai international stadium in Dubai on September 28.

The result of their final Super Four game against Afghanistan will not have any effect on India's place in the final. At worst, India will finish second on the points table if they lose to Afghanistan tomorrow but that looks unlikely as India's net run-rate of +1.333 is the only positive figure in the NRR column among all the four teams.

So, for India to finish second, the winner of the game between Pakistan and Bangladesh should win by a huge margin and hope that India suffer a massive loss at the hands of Afghans.

Played: 2

Won: 2

Lost: 0

NRR: +1.333

Pakistan

Pakistan have two points from two games in the Super Four stage

Pakistan, who qualified for the Super Four stage as the Group A runners-up to India, survived a huge scare at the hands of Afghanistan as they sneaked home to a narrow two-wicket win with just three balls to spare in their first match of this round.

In the second match, they were completely outplayed by India as they suffered a huge nine-wicket loss to their arch-rivals, a defeat that had a heavy toll on their NRR.

After the first two games, Pakistan have two points in as many matches and a win in their final Super Four game against Bangladesh should be enough for them to make it to the final.

A washout will ensure that Pakistan will qualify to the final, thanks to a better NRR than Bangladesh.

Played: 2

Won: 1

Lost: 1

NRR: -0.556

Bangladesh

Bangladesh have two points from two games in the Super Four stage

Bangladesh began their Super Four round with a huge seven-wicket loss against India in their first game and followed it up with a narrow three-wicket win over Afghanistan in the second game.

With this win, Bangladesh are still in the tournament as they have two points in as many matches with a NRR of -0.645, which is the lowest among all the four teams.

To qualify for the final, Bangladesh will have to win their final Super Four game against Pakistan as it will take them to four points in the round. A washout will ensure that Pakistan will qualify to the final, thanks to a superior NRR than Bangladesh.

Played: 2

Won: 1

Lost: 1

NRR: -0.645