Asia Cup 2022: Rating teams based on their bowling performances in tournament

'Batters win you matches, bowlers win you tournaments' - like every other time, the age-old proverb is once again the topic to discuss after the Asia Cup 2022. As the toss played a massive part in the tournament, the job got tougher for the teams losing the toss in the tournament. Fighting against all the odds, bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shadab Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman not only picked a lot of wickets but were very economical throughout the tournament. Fighting all the odds and obstacles, Sri Lanka emerged victorious in the Asia Cup 2022 final defeating Pakistan with 23 runs. Now, there will be some changes in the team with the T20 World Cup coming up, but the bowlers can be proud of the effort they have given in the tournament. The conditions weren’t ideal to play so many matches in such a quick time but again, they have shown extreme discipline and dedication to help their respective teams gain momentum. Here’s how the bowlers of every team did in the tournament. Rating teams based on bowling performances in Asia Cup 2022 6. Hong Kong - 3/10 Being an associate nation of the ICC, Hong Kong’s performance in the last two editions of the Asia Cup was decent, to say the least. Yes, they lost all their matches in the group stage but the brand of cricket they played in the qualifiers was pretty good according to a lot of experts. They had their chance to create history by beating India in their first match of the campaign but the Indian bowlers pulled the trigger on time. Against Pakistan, the team couldn’t just stand up. As a bowling unit, they were pretty below average as they conceded 192 and 193 runs against India and Pakistan respectively. Even after that, Ehsan Khan’s performance against two top-notch sides is a big plus point. The 37-year-old dismissed Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman in the tournament and also was good with the line and length as he gave away 54 runs in the eight overs that he bowled. 5. Bangladesh - 4/10 It was nothing special for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. Their grit to win against Sri Lanka can be the only highlight for the Bangla Tigers as they got knocked out of the tournament from the group stage itself. The bowlers were pretty average in the two matches that they played. Ebadot Hossain with three wickets against Sri Lanka is the leading wicket-taker from the team. Even though the 28-year-old picked three wickets, where he gave away 51 runs in just four overs. This proves the level of inconsistency in the team. A lot was expected from Mustafizur Rahman but he failed to live up to the expectations. Skipper Shakib Al Hasan was also pretty average. If anything, the team management should decide their playing XI ahead of the T20 World Cup as a lot of changes in the bowling line-up were noticed after the first game. 4. India - 6/10 After a brilliant win in their match against Pakistan, team India automatically became the hot favourites to win their 8th Asia Cup title in history. Batting was always their primary strength but seeing Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya bowl that night, fans were assured of the team's success in the future. Alas, it didn’t last long. In the second match of the tournament, the bowlers gave away 152 runs in 20 overs against a weak Hong Kong side, who were thrashed by Pakistan later in the tournament. The misery continued in the super four of the competition where the Indian bowlers couldn’t defend 181 and 173 runs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has proved himself to be a valuable asset for the Indian team was good with the new ball but failed massively in the death overs. Avesh Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal also had a very poor tournament. Even though Bhuvneshwar Kumar with 11 wickets is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Arshdeep Singh’s form has definitely been the highlight of India’s Asia Cup campaign. The youngster did give away 151 runs in almost 18 overs but he definitely can prove vital for the Indian team in the T20 World Cup. Overall, with three wins and two losses, Indian bowlers were very substandard in the tournament. Avesh Khan out of which is most likely to get dropped. However, with the news of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returning, there are certain positives to look forward to. 3. Afghanistan - 7/10 Even though the Blue Tigers lost all their matches in the Super Four of the competition, the bowlers were in tremendous form. Mujeeb Ur Rahman led the bowling line-up with Rashid Khan being rock solid as well. Toss once again played a factor in their Asia Cup campaign as Mohammad Nabi lost all three tosses in the Super Four. It forced them to bowl second in the match when the pitch became easy for the batters. Other than their match against India, Afghanistan were pretty much in the driving seat against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Both the matches were lost in the final over of the match. Fazalhaq Farooqi conceding two sixes in the final over of the match against Pakistan will haunt the bowler in the times to come. Nevertheless, the effort shown by the bowlers deserve some respect. Mujeeb Ur Rahman with seven wickets is the joint fourth highest wicket-taker in the tournament while Rashid Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi have picked six wickets each. 2. Pakistan - 7.5/10 In a time where most of the batters looked shaky, it was the bowlers who once again helped Pakistan reach the finals of a major tournament. Now, bowling has always been Pakistan's strength and Asia Cup 2022 wasn’t an exception. In the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr, the young boys were simply fantastic. After a bitter defeat in the hands of India in their very first match of the tournament, the Pakistani bowlers thrashed Hong Kong as their wickets fell like a house of cards. Dismissing a side at just 38 runs in a T20I game is a massive thing considering that the same team scored 152 runs against India just a couple of before it. Going forward, the bowlers restricted India to just 181 runs in the super four of the Asia Cup when the Men in Blue were eyeing for 200-210 runs. In the next match, they restricted Afghanistan for just 129 runs but most importantly, Naseem Shah, a bowler, hit two sixes in the final over of the match to help Pakistan qualify for the finals of the Asia Cup. However, they weren't able to control Lanka in the summit clash from scoring big and ended as the runners up. Talking about figures, Mohammad Nawaz, Haris Rauf, and Shadab Khan with 8 wickets each are the third highest wicket-takers in the tournament. Their young sensation Naseem Shah, had seven wickets to his name in the tournament. 1. Sri Lanka - 8/10 Unity is Sri Lanka’s strength. There might not be any particular hero from the bowling team as all of them chipped in at the correct time to help the Lankan blues bag the Asia Cup for the sixth time. After a disappointing loss in the first match of the competition against Afghanistan, the team bounced back and won all the remaining four matches. They were the only unbeaten team in the Super Four of the competition. Players like Madushanka and Wanindu Hasaranga played decisive roles in the bowling line-up and also stood tall in their real test in the finals. By virtue of winning most of the tosses, Sri Lanka didn’t have to bowl second in the Super Four apart from the final night. Talking about high-pressure finale night, they flaunted class and won the match by 23 runs with match winning spells from Wanindu Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan

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Asia Cup 2022: Rating teams based on their bowling performances in tournament

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