The 2018 Asia Cup (also known as Unimoni Asia Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] was a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that was held in the United Arab Emirates in September 2018.[2] 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 were the defending champions,[3] and retained their title, after beating Bangladesh by three wickets in the final.[4]
Originally, the tournament was scheduled to be played in India.[9][10] It was moved to the United Arab Emirates, following ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.[2]
Pakistan were scheduled to host the 2018 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup ahead of the tournament in April.[14] 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.[2]
Format
The schedule and format of the tournament was announced on 24 July 2018, with the six teams split into two groups of three.[15] The top two teams from each of the groups progressed to the Super Four section of the tournament.[15] From there, the top two teams of the Super Four section played each other in the final.[15] 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.[16] On 19 September 2018, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) revised the schedule for the Super Four section[17] The captains of Bangladesh and Pakistan were both critical of the ACC's new schedule.[18][19]
In Group B, Sri Lanka were eliminated from the tournament, after losing both of their matches. Therefore Afghanistan and Bangladesh progressed to the Super Four section of the competition.[38][39] In Group A, Hong Kong also lost both of their matches, meaning that India and Pakistan progressed to the Super Fours.[40]
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.[44][45] In the final Super Four match, Bangladesh beat Pakistan by 37 runs to advance to the final.[46]
In India's last Super Four match, against Afghanistan, captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan were both rested for the match. MS Dhoni was named captain of the side in their absence, and became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs.[47] Dhoni became the oldest player to lead India in an ODI.[48] The match finished in a tie, the first time this had occurred in the Asia Cup.[48] It was also the first time that Afghanistan were involved in a tied game in ODIs.[48]
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan's partnership of 210 was India's highest — while batting second, against Pakistan and in their Asia Cup history — for the first wicket.[51]
This was India's biggest win against Pakistan in terms of wickets (9).[51]
United Arab Emirates
India (7th title)
Bangladesh
Rashid Khan (10)
