Asia Cup 2002: Asia Cup final permutations: India vs Pakistan final: India were looked upon as favourites for the Asia Cup title even before the competition started. But, after their loss to Pakistan on Sunday, their objective is to keep the final hopes alive as they prepare for India vs Sri Lanka clash. The title-decider will be played at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. India can still meet Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup and it will be third meeting in the competition. Follow Asia Cup 2022 live updates with InsideSport.IN
Majority of the cricket fans around the world will be wishing for an India-Pakistan final. Why not? Both the matches have lived up to its top billing with the games going down to the wire. Especially the last game, which Pakistan won by five wickets with one ball to spare on Sunday.
How India can reach the final and meet Pakistan?
First and foremost, it is important to understand the format. There are four teams in the Super 4 stage. Of the four, all teams play one another once. At the end of the Super 4 stage, the top two teams will make it to the finals of the competition. Currently, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with one each, are the top two teams in the points table. India and Afghanistan lie third and fourth respectively.
As for Rohit Sharma, they will need to take it step by step to qualify for the final. They have two big matches coming up. They will meet Sri Lanka on Tuesday and compete against Afghanistan on Thursday.
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The equation is simple for Pakistan to make it to the final. If they win both their matches, they top the Super 4 stage and walk into the Asia Cup final. Likewise, India can also reach the final of the competition if they win their next two matches. It would mean Pakistan will end up with six points and India with four. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will end with two and zero points respectively.
Can there be a three-way tie?
There is another chance of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka ending up with same points after Super 4 stage. That would make the entire scenario really interesting. But this can only happen if India win both their matches while Sri Lanka beat Pakistan and the Men in Green defeat Afghanistan. In this case, the three teams will end up on six points with two wins each. As a result, the NRR could come into play to determine the two finalists.
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