The 2022 Asia Cup has been one for the ages with each team showcasing their talents throughout the tournament. With the tournament heading towards the business end, three teams apart from Sri Lanka, are in the hunt to qualify for the all-important final. Pakistan is in pole position to make it to the final of the mega-event while hopes of India and Afghanistan hang by a thread.
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have been sensational so far in the tournament. Sri Lanka has won both of their matches in the round, defeating Afghanistan and India, while Pakistan has won their only game in the Super 4s stage, registering a sensational win against India.
India has been disappointing to say the least in both their encounters in the Super 4s stage, losing the first match against arch-rivals Pakistan and then following it up with yet another loss at the hands of Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Afghanistan failed to carry their first-round momentum and lost to Sri Lanka in their only match in the round so far.
With just three matches remaining in the round, three teams have a chance to make it to the final, albeit the teams might depend on other results going their way.
Let’s have a look at the possible scenarios for each team:
The Men in Green need to win one of their remaining two encounters to qualify for the final. If the Green Shirts manage to beat Afghanistan in tonight’s encounter, they will ensure their qualification to the final alongside Sri Lanka as it will be impossible for India and Afghanistan to reach the points tally of the top two teams.
In case, Pakistan suffers a defeat at the hands of Afghanistan then they will need to beat Sri Lanka and hope that Afghanistan doesn’t beat India by a fair margin in order to have a superior net run rate.
If Pakistan loses both of its next two matches then it will need India to beat Afghanistan and have a better net run rate than both sides.
The Men in Blue will need a miracle to make it to the final of the mega-event. They will need Pakistan to lose its remaining two matches and beat Afghanistan by a large margin in order to get ahead of Pakistan and Afghanistan by a superior net run rate. Any other result that goes against their favor, they will be knocked out of the tournament.
Afghanistan has two scenarios as they look to make it to their first-ever Asia Cup final. If Afghanistan wins their remaining two matches, against Pakistan and India, it will qualify for the final alongside Sri Lanka. If Afghanistan wins against Pakistan and loses to India, it will need Pakistan to lose to Sri Lanka by a large margin in order to sneak into the final due to a better run rate than Pakistan and India.
In case, Afghanistan loses to Pakistan, it will be knocked out of the tournament with Pakistan qualifying for the final along with Sri Lanka.
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