The 2018 Asia Cup (also known as Unimoni Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons) was a One-Day International (ODI)

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

tournament that was held in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

in September 2018. It was the 14th edition of the Asia Cup and the third time the tournament was played in the United Arab Emirates, after the 1984 and 1995 tournaments.

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

were the defending champions, and retained their title, after beating Bangladesh by three wickets in the final. The five full members of the Asian Cricket Council took part in the tournament:

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. They were joined by

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, who won the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament. Hong Kong had lost their ODI status after finishing tenth in the

2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier The 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier was a cricket tournament that took place during March 2018 in Zimbabwe. It formed the final part of the Cricket World Cup qualification process for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. The top two t ...

in March. However, on 9 September 2018, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

(ICC) awarded ODI status to all matches in the tournament.

Background

Originally, the tournament was scheduled to be played in India. It was moved to the United Arab Emirates, following ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan. On 29 October 2015, following the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the worl ...

(BCCI) secretary stated that the 2018 edition of the tournament would be held in India. In August 2017, the BCCI sought government clearance to host the tournament, after the 2017 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup was moved to Malaysia. In April 2018, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

, asked if the BCCI and ACC would consider hosting the tournament in Abu Dhabi, in a bid to ensure Pakistan's participation. Pakistan were scheduled to host the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup ahead of the tournament in April. With the announcement that the Asia Cup would be played in the United Arab Emirates, the Emerging Teams Asia Cup was moved to December 2018, with Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament with Pakistan.

Format

The schedule and format of the tournament was announced on 24 July 2018, with the six teams split into two groups of three. The top two teams from each of the groups progressed to the Super Four section of the tournament. From there, the top two teams of the Super Four section played each other in the final. Initially, the team that finishes second in Group A were scheduled to play their first Super Four game in Abu Dhabi. However, India would be based in Dubai, irrespective of where they finish in the pool. On 19 September 2018, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) revised the schedule for the Super Four section The captains of Bangladesh and Pakistan were both critical of the ACC's new schedule.

Teams

* , ICC Full Member * , ICC Full Member * , ICC Full Member * , ICC Full Member * , ICC Full Member * , 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier

Squads

Before the start of the tournament, Wafadar Momand was ruled out of Afghanistan's squad due to injury and was replaced by

Yamin Ahmadzai Mohammad Yamin Ahmadzai (born 25 July 1992) is an Afghan cricketer. Ahmadzai is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm medium-fast. He was born in Laghman Province. He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan's first ever Tes ...

, and

Mominul Haque Mominul Haque ( bn, মমিনুল হক; born 29 September 1991), also known as Muminul Showrav, is a Bangladeshi cricketer who is a former captain of the Bangladesh national team in Test matches. He is a left-handed batter. Domestic c ...

was added to Bangladesh's squad.

Dinesh Chandimal Lokuge Dinesh Chandimal ( si, ලොකුගේ දිනේෂ් චන්දිමාල්; born 18 November 1989) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who captained the Sri Lanka national cricket team. A handy and agile right-handed bat ...

and

Danushka Gunathilaka Mashtayage Danushka Gunathilaka (born 17 March 1991) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays as a top-order batter in all forms of the game. He has also been occasionally sidelined due to disciplinary issues. He is currently released on ...

were ruled out of Sri Lanka's squad due to injury. They were replaced by

Niroshan Dickwella Dickwella Patabendige Dilantha Niroshan Dickwella, known as Niroshan Dickwella (born 23 June 1993), is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays all formats of the game for Sri Lanka. A left-hand batsman, he also plays as a wicket-keeper of ...

and Shehan Jayasuriya respectively. Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal suffered a wrist injury in the opening match and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament. After the conclusion of the India-Pakistan match in the group stage, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur were all ruled out of India's squad for the rest of the tournament due to injuries. They were replaced by Ravindra Jadeja,

Deepak Chahar Deepak Chahar (born 7 August 1992) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a right-arm medium pace swing bowler, who plays for Rajasthan in domestic cricket and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League. In 2019, he became the firs ...

and

Siddarth Kaul Siddarth Kaul (born 19 May 1990), also spelled Siddharth Kaul, is an Indian professional cricketer. A fast bowler who bowls at about 130 km/h, he made his first-class debut for Punjab in 2007. Kaul was a part of the victorious India Und ...

. At the Super Four stage of the tournament,

Soumya Sarkar Soumya Sarkar ( bn, সৌম্য সরকার; born 25 February 1993) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right arm medium-fast bowler who mainly plays as an opening batsman and the creator of the good looking " S ...

and Imrul Kayes were added to Bangladesh's squad. Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of Bangladesh's final Super Four match, and the rest of the tournament, due to an injury he initially sustained in January 2018, during the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

of the Bangladesh Tri-Nation Series.

Match officials

The ICC appointed the following umpires and

match referee A match referee is an official appointed to oversee professional cricket matches. Match referees for Test matches and One Day Internationals are appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Most matches below international level do not ...

s for all thirteen matches. Six match officiating umpires were from participating countries of the Asia Cup who are the members of

ICC International Panel of Umpires The International Panel of ICC Umpires was established by the ICC in 1994 following trial in 1992/3, to ensure that one neutral umpire would stand in every Test match.Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. ; Match Referees * David Boon * Andy Pycroft ; Umpires from participating nations *

Ahmed Shah Pakteen Ahmed Shah Pakteen (born 1 January 1977) is a cricket umpire from Afghanistan. He is currently a member of International Panel of ICC Umpires. Pakteen has stood in matches in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup. On 14 January 2017 he stood ...

* Anisur Rahman * Anil Chaudhary *

Nitin Menon Nitin Narendra Menon (born 2 November 1983) is an Indian cricketer and umpire. He was a right-handed batsman, representing Madhya Pradesh in List A cricket. He is now an umpire and has stood in matches in the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy and the Shef ...

* Chettithody Shamshuddin * Ahsan Raza *

Ruchira Palliyaguruge Ruchira Palliyaguruge (born 22 January 1968) is a Sri Lankan umpire and a former first-class cricketer. Ruchira played for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Chilaw Marians Cricket Club, Saracens Sports Club, Nondescripts Cricket Club, Old C ...

; Umpires from neutral countries * Rod Tucker * Marais Erasmus * Shaun George *

Gregory Brathwaite Gregory O'Brian Brathwaite (born 9 December 1969) is a cricket umpire from Barbados. His One Day International (ODI) umpiring debut was on 7 August 2011, in a match between Canada and Afghanistan in the 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Champ ...

Venues

Group stage

faced

in the opening game of the tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was Bangladesh's first match in the United Arab Emirates since April 1995, when they faced

in the 1995 Asia Cup. In Group B, Sri Lanka were eliminated from the tournament, after losing both of their matches. Therefore

and Bangladesh progressed to the Super Four section of the competition. In Group A,

also lost both of their matches, meaning that

and Pakistan progressed to the Super Fours.

Group A

---- ----

Group B

---- ----

Super Four

In the penultimate round of Super Four matches, India beat Pakistan by nine wickets and Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by three runs. Therefore, India progressed to the final of the tournament and Afghanistan were eliminated. In the final Super Four match, Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs to advance to the final. In India's last Super Four match, against Afghanistan, captain

Rohit Sharma Rohit Gurunath Sharma (born 30 April 1987) is an Indian international cricketer and the current captain of the Indian cricket team. Widely considered as one of the best opening batter of all time, he plays as a right-handed batsman for Mumb ...

and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan were both rested for the match.

MS Dhoni Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the curren ...

was named captain of the side in their absence, and became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs. Dhoni became the oldest player to lead India in an ODI. The match finished in a

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * ...

, the first time this had occurred in the Asia Cup. It was also the first time that Afghanistan were involved in a tied game in ODIs. ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Final

Statistics

Most runs

Most wickets

References

External links

Series home at ESPN Cricinfo
{{2018–19 in Indian cricket Asia Cup International cricket competitions in the United Arab Emirates 2018 in Emirati cricket International cricket competitions in 2018–19 Asia Cup