By Sourit Sanyal
Team India was one of the favourites for the 2022 Asia Cup final when the tournament began in August. Cut to September 6 and Rohit Sharma's men in blue are staring at a possible elimination from the Asia Cup after their six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka.
The Lankans are now one step closer to the finals of the Asia Cup after victories against Afghanistan and India, standing atop the super four points table with a net run rate (NRR) of +0.315. The final is scheduled to take place on September 11 in Dubai.
Meanwhile, India now stands in the third position in the super-four table with zero points and an NRR of -0.125. With the last match against Afghanistan on September 8, India still hopes for all the possible chances of qualification for the Asia Cup finals.
But can the men in blue qualify for the final after the two consecutive defeats in the super-four? Here are all the possible scenarios that still keep team India in the tournament.
Afghanistan Defeating Pakistan
India needs for Afghanistan to beat Pakistan in their super-four tie to keep their chances alive for the finals. A Pakistani victory against the Afghans would see Babar Azam's men head closer to the finals, possibly meeting Sri Lanka.
India Defeating Afghanistan
If Mohammad Nabi's men are able to defeat Pakistan, team India under Rohit Sharma needs to win their clash against Afghanistan on September 8. But with two defeats and an NRR of -0.125, India needs to defeat Afghanistan by a huge margin to improve their overall NRR to keep them alive for the finals race. A defeat against Afghanistan would confirm India's exit from the Asia Cup.
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Sri Lanka Defeating Pakistan
After Afghanistan's possible victory against Pakistan, India would now have to rely on Sri Lanka to defeat Pakistan hopefully with a huge margin to reduce Pakistan's overall NRR.
But if Pakistan gets defeated by Afghanistan but goes on to defeat Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma and co. would bid adieu to their 2022 Asia Cup Campaign.
If both Afghanistan and later Sri Lanka get to defeat Pakistan, India needs to beat Pakistan at the total net run rate.
India's NRR Greater Than Afghanistan And Pakistan
If all the aforementioned scenarios go with India, the finals spot would feature a battle against India and Pakistan, this time in the points table with an NRR knockout. India's current net run rate stands at -0.125 with two defeats.
Pakistan stands with +0.126 NRR and a victory against Afghanistan can confirm India's exit from the Asia Cup top-four. But if Afghanistan defeats Pakistan, the men in green would see a drop in their NRR.
India would aim to capitalize on this moment and try to defeat Afghanistan by a huge margin to increase its NRR. Rohit Sharma's team would now hope for Pakistan to further reduce its NRR with a possibly big defeat against Sri Lanka.
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India's 2022 Asia Cup Campaign
Team India, under the management of Rahul Dravid, began their 2022 Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan. The sold-out group stage match at the Dubai International Match saw team India beat their neighbours by five wickets, thanks to the heroics of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya with the bat and ball. India later cruised smoothly towards the super four of the Asia Cup after their 40-run victory against Hong Kong.
With the super four qualifications, India seemed to inch closer to the finals of the Asia Cup, until they met Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Despite Virat Kohli's half-century, India's super-four campaign started with a five-wicket defeat against Pakistan. The men in blue's chances for the Asia Cup finals got further dented after the loss against Sri Lanka.
They would now be hoping for all the mentioned scenarios to go in their favour and hope for all the possible opponents to drop points and NRR to cement their chances of another Asia Cup final.
