Asia Cup 2022: How can India still qualify for finals?

After starting with two back-to-back wins in the group stage and making it to the Super Four, India suffered two consecutive losses on the big stage, which made their final chances even more blurry. After entering the Super Four with their heads high, the Men in Blue faced two final-over defeats in a row, one each against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

As a result of the two losses, it has become even more difficult for India to extend their Asia Cup winning record. In the first Super Four game against Pakistan, India lost on the penultimate delivery of the final innings when the batters took two runs off it while Arshdeep Singh oversaw the ball.

The young pacer was put under a similar situation in the Sri Lanka game, where the opponents needed two runs off the final two balls but a silly error by Rishabh Pant led to the Sri Lanka batters getting an extra run off the penultimate delivery of the final over as Sri Lanka bagged a thrilling win.

Though India suffered two losses, both the games were lost by very close margins. Thus, India can rely on their Net Run Rate, which is not that bad. Afghanistan has lost just one game, and India has lost two, but still, India are a place above Afghanistan in the points table, thanks to their NRR which currently reads at -0.125 as compared to Afghanistan’s -0.589.

Here’s how India can still qualify for the final:

1. Afghanistan needs to beat Pakistan

In the upcoming contest of the Asia Cup between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Mohammad Nabi-led side must bag a victory against the Babar Azam-led team. Afghanistan lost a close-cut match against Sri Lanka, whereas Pakistan won a similar thriller against India. Now that the two teams meet, India’s finale hopes will be hanging on a thin thread. If Pakistan wins the contest, India will be knocked out with a game to spare.

2. India needs to win against Afghanistan

India’s final game is scheduled against Afghanistan, which is a must-win for them. If Afghanistan beat Pakistan before meeting India, the fixture will become even more important for India. But no future for the Men in Blue is possible for India if Afghanistan suffers a defeat on Wednesday against Pakistan in the penultimate game of the Super Four stage.

3. Sri Lanka needs to beat Pakistan

If the above-mentioned scenarios fall in place, then again India will hope for Sri Lanka to win their final Super Four contest against Pakistan, which is also the last game before the finale. In that case, Sri Lanka will straight-away enter the finals, but on the other hand India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan will be tied on the points table with two points each and the NRR will decide which team would move forward for the summit clash.