Asia Cup 2018: Ranking the Top 5 teams in the tournament

The Asia Cup is all set to complete its 14th edition with only one match left. While the prominent teams like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka entered the tournament directly, the associate nations had a qualifier round to claim one spot left in the main stage which was bagged by Hong Kong.

When the most expected clashes like India-Pakistan ended up as a one-sided affair, the 'so-called' minnows like Afghanistan and Hong Kong made a strong statement in the tournament.

Sri Lanka who are currently undergoing a transition phase post-retirement of veterans like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had a forgettable series as they were knocked out in the group stage itself.

On the other hand, Afghanistan made a huge impact as they defeated Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in their group stage which was the result of much commendable and clinical performance by the team.

As One-sided affairs and Seat edge thriller had a fair share so far with one game left to go in the tournament, we rank the top 5 teams of this Asia Cup based on their performance.

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#5 Hong Kong

Hong Kong almost gave India a scare in the group stages

After edging past the Hosts UAE in the finals of qualifiers, Hong Kong was placed in a group along with India and Pakistan.

Hong Kong was bundled out for mere 117 in their first match against Pakistan and Pakistan won it comprehensively. Unlike their previous encounter, Hong Kong showed some spirit in their next match against India.

Chasing an above par score of 286 against India, none expected them to give a fight against the Indian bowling line up.

The 174-run opening between Nizakat Khan and Captain Anshuman Rath raised many eyebrows.

They were determined in their approach which was planned as well. India had to break a lot of sweat in that match to win which was expected to be a mere one-sided clash between the teams.

Although they couldn't make it to the Super four stage, the cricketing circle will remember them for giving India a run for the money.

#4 Pakistan

Pakistan were not consistent in their performances

The Winners of the Champions Trophy 2017 were expected to be a strong contender for the title.

But, they were mostly outplayed by their opponents and had hardly looked comfortable on the field.

They defeated Hong Kong in their first match comprehensively but in their high octane clash with India, they failed terribly and it ended up as a one-sided match. In their Super four match against Afghanistan,

Pakistan put up a clinical performance as Shoaib Malik guided them across the victory line. In their next matches against India and Bangladesh, their bowling and batting failed respectively.

Their bowlers had no answer to the Rohit-Dhawan duo as the only wicket fell in the match was the result of a miscommunication. In their virtual semi-final against, it was yet again a dismal batting performance from the team that knocked them out of the tournament.

The experienced campaigner Shoaib Malik was the lone warrior as he tried his level best to guide the team resulting in vain mostly.

He accumulated 211 runs in 5 outings. The other player who deserves a mention is Imam-ul-Haq. In their virtual semi-final against Bangladesh, the opener played a composed knock of 83 as he almost took his team to the finals.

Hope Pakistan fills the voids in the team and puts up a good show in next year world cup.

#3 Bangladesh

Can Bangladesh clinch the Asia Cup?

One of the finalists of Asia Cup had put up a good show in the tournament so far as they had lived up to their expectations.

The Bangla tigers who had already erased the term minnows from their dictionary with a clinical performance against the top teams continued their good run in this tournament.

In their first match against Sri Lanka, they put up an all-round performance as they defeated Srilanka by 137 runs.

Tamim Iqbal who left the field after an injury returned back when the team was struggling and played with a single hand for almost 22 balls.

The veteran opener garnered a lot of praise from fans to legends for his ‘Never give up’ attitude. Mushfiqur Rahim has been the major contributor for the team and has scored 297 runs in 5 outings so far.

Although they displayed some dismal performance against India and Afghanistan, they held their nerve when required as a result of which they are set to play their second consecutive Asia Cup final against India.

Their habit of losing early wickets is one major setback for the team which needs to be rectified as soon as possible. Will there be a Nagini dance on Friday from Bangla tigers? Let’s wait and watch.

#2 Afghanistan

Afghanistan put up strong performances throughout the tournament

The one team that had improved by leaps in the past one year in Afghanistan. There has been a common voice from critics and fans across the social media that Afghanistan deserved to be in final, result of which they are ranked second in this list.

They put up a good show in their group stage as they defeated Srilanka and Bangladesh by 91 and 136 runs respectively.

Afghanistan has been the most entertaining team in the tournament providing seat edge thrillers constantly. If it was Shoaib Malik who snatched their victory in their clash against Pakistan, it was Mustafizur for Bangladesh who held his nerve while defending 8 runs.

In their match against India, Ahmed Shehzad played a splendid inning as he scored 124 runs off just 114 balls. Afghans bounced back after the Rayudu-Rahul 110 run opening partnership as the clash ended in a tie after Indan middle order failed to sustain against the Afghan bowling line up.

The spin trio of Rashid - Nabi - Mujeeb has been phenomenal throughout the tournament and has emerged as a nightmare for the batsmen. The onslaught of 57 runs of 32 by Rashid Khan against Bangladesh deserves a mention.

The inexperience of fast bowlers has been a major headache and it’s never late to find a solution. Had they held their nerves during crunch situations, we would have witnessed an India-Afghanistan final clash for sure.

#1 India

India

have

been dominant throughout the tournament

Unanimously, the team of the tournament.

In the absence of their regular skipper Virat Kohli, India hardly missed him as they had put up a clinical show in every outing.

They had dominated all their opponents so far in the tournament and consequently, they are to yet to face a defeat.

Although their performance against Hong Kong is a debatable topic, they managed to win it after breaking some sweat.

Both the much-hyped clashes between India and Pakistan resulted in a one-sided affair which shows the reign of the Indian team in the tournament.

They played a second tier team in a dead rubber against Afghanistan and had to settle for a tie.

The middle order couldn’t handle the pressure and lost wickets regularly and settling for a tie consequently. Shikhar Dhawan continued his golden run in the shorter format as he tops the chart of leading run scorers of this tournament with 327 runs.

The Stand-In skipper Rohit Sharma delivered with the bat as well as he has 269 runs in 4 outings. The Indian Bowling line up has been extraordinary in this tournament as hardly any batsman looked comfortable against them.

The only weak link of the Indian team is the middle order which they need to set it right as soon as possible. It’s safe to say India not only looks set to retain the Asia Cup but also to bring the World Cup back home next year.