Asia Cup 2012: A review

Sunday, March 25, 2012

A tournament that went right down to the wire! We reflect on key moments and performances during the 2012 Asia Cup.

This was one of the best Asia Cup tournaments ever, because, for the first time in its chequered history, the tournament was a completely open one with chances for all its participating teams. From the beginning, Bangladesh were determined to prove that they were not push-overs and this, they proved, not just in words, but deeds. They were fearless and competed hard. They never folded over, a normal trait of the past. They had more than one match-winner. They were, indeed, the team of the tournament.

In the final, one could argue that the match hinged on a few things. Knowing how poorly Shahadat bowled in the previous match at the end, why did Mushfiqur Rahim not give the ball to Najmul Hossain or Mahmudullah? Why did he finish Mortaza earlier? Why did three Bangladeshi batsmen play fancy shots and get out? Why did Razzak not go for a simple run or two and try to give the strike to Mahmudullah? Why did Nazim and Nasir take nearly 20 overs to score 44 runs? One could go on.

But the bottom-line is that no team captured the imagination of the world as Bangladesh did during these 10 days. Imagine a few Pakistani supporters wishing for a Bangladeshi win. And how many Indians supported Bangladesh in their match against Sri Lanka. It is true now. Bangladesh has arrived. You cannot call them minnows any longer, at least in ODIs.

Now for the tournament.

I have to give Virat Kohli the credit for the innings of the tournament for his fearless 183 which crafted a totally unlikely win for India. But this mattered very little in the wider context of the tournament. It only strengthened Kohli’s credentials to be a semi-permanent no. 3 in all forms of the game. He should be given a fairly long run. The only thing I fail to understand is why he seems to celebrate his successes in such an abrasive, rude and obnoxious manner. Who is he getting at? Why should he not be happy at such achievements?

Tendulkar’s long odyssey ended with a wimp. No doubt that he achieved a momentous milestone and should be felicitated for that. No one will ever come within 25% of this mark. However, the innings itself was, arguably, Tendulkar’s worst 100 in his career. A difference of 33 balls indicated a 1980s-type innings. It was clear this was the result of the pressure since Tendulkar batted much more freely in the next match.

The player of the tournament was Shakib Al Hasan. In every match he exceeded 48 and thrice he captured 2 wickets each. He accumulated 1139 Rating points and this averages to 285 points per match. While he was there, there was always hope for Bangladesh. He has carried the torch for Bangladesh for a long time and he can suddenly see a few footsteps beside him. Maybe he should have been bid 2 million dollars and not the non-performing Ravindra Jadeja.

The batsman of the tournament was Kohli, by the proverbial few kilometres. He played three innings, had that astounding 183, a match-winning 108 and a quality innings of 66. He totalled 1271 Rating points and averaged 424 points per match. However, the inability of India to get to the Final, not because of his shortcomings, dimmed Kohli’s aura a little. Tamim Iqbal essayed four quality half-centuries, and showed four fingers to someone in the pavilion. However, not once did he stay on and finish the task. He left it for Shakib, who in turn left it for the others and when the others performed, Bangladesh won. It is time these two batsmen learn to score hundreds and finish the task on hand.

The bowlers of the tournament were Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Aizaz Cheema. Ha! Why three and not one? Tough to separate these three bowlers. Gul captured 9 wickets (518 Rating points); Ajmal captured 8 wickets (522 Rating points) and Cheema 8 wickets (499 Rating points). Very little to separate them. Working as a potent team, barring once, they delivered. They made up for the indifferent batting of Pakistan.

Pakistan won the tournament because they won the big moments. Their experience helped them a lot. Bangladesh fell a few inches short. Their inexperience showed. However, they have only one place to go – upwards. India were found short in the key moments while batting and bowling against Bangladesh. They had the best batting and worst bowling line-up in the tournament. They are going to struggle if they do not address their bowling weaknesses, especially bowling at the death. Sri Lanka were tired and bone-weary after three globetrotting months on the road and looked a totally different team from what they were a fortnight back.
 
Couple of delicious moments to savour.

Fourth week of February. India are down and out. They move the world with one awesome chase, led by Kohli. Then they go to their hotel in Brisbane and wait for the last match being played a few kilometres away. If Sri Lanka loses, they would stay on, else, they book an early flight to India. Sri Lanka wins and India leaves by the early flight.

Three weeks pass and the scene shifts to the Asian sub-continent.

Third week of March. India are down and out. They move the world with one awesome chase, led by Kohli. Then they go to their hotel in Dhaka and wait for the last match being played a few kilometres away. If Sri Lanka wins, they would stay on, else, they book an early flight to India. Sri Lanka loses and India leaves by the early flight.

Who said things are dull?

Asia Cup 2012: A curtain-raiser

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Four teams from the subcontinent head into battle at the Asia Cup in Bangladesh this year. Who will be crowned champions?

To say that the Asia Cup has had, over the past quarter of a century, a chequered existence may very well be the understatement of the year. It has always had a step-motherly treatment by the leading teams as evidenced by the following table.


India was a reluctant participant in the initial stages. For that matter, India have also been reluctant to hold the event. The first edition of the Asia Cup was a 3-match 3-way event without even a Final. The most popular tournament format has been the 4-nation 7-match one, which is followed for the current year also. This is probably the best format since there are really no unimportant matches. In two of the recent editions, the number was increased to 6, with the addition of Hong Kong and UAE. Not a great success since these two teams troubled no one. Not even Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka have been the only ever-present team in all the 10 editions of Asia Cup. Pakistan and India have missed one event each. Sri Lanka have held the event 4 times, Bangladesh twice, UAE twice and Pakistan and India once each.

India have won 5 times, Sri Lanka 4 times and Pakistan once. India dominated the first half; winning 4 of 5 Asia Cups and Sri Lanka have held sway over the second half, winning 3 of 5.

Shoaib Malik’s match winning 143 off 127 balls against India during the 2004 edition of the tournament has been the best batting performance in Asia Cups with 557 points. Then follows Shahid Afridi’s chasing century of 109 in 76 balls, performed in vain. Pakistan and Sri Lankan batsmen monopolize the batting table. The best Indian performance has been Virender Sehwag’s 119 in 95 balls while chasing a 300 target.

Ajanta Mendis’s 6 for 13 against India during the 2008 edition of Asia Cup leads the bowlers’ table by a wide margin, with 737 points. It is unlikely that this performance will be overtaken by any bowler in a hurry. 5 top wickets were included in this haul. Aaqib Javed’s 5 for 19 against India during 1995 follows next. This is followed by Prasad’s 4 top order batsmen, in a rain-affected match, against Pakistan during 1997.

Since Shoaib Malik also captured 2 for 42 along with his innings of 143, he is the way-out leader in the Player Performance table, with 699 points. Shahid Afridi also had a spell of 1 for 43 to go with his 109, albeit in a losing cause. Sanath Jayasuriya, with an innings of 130 in 132 balls and 1 for 17, is third. Again, on the losing side.

To come on top in the Team Performance table, a team has to perform well in both aspects of the game. So it is unlikely that a 300/301 for 5 win or a 110/100 win will qualify. Pakistan, during the 2000 Asia Cup against Bangladesh, did this in style. They scored 300 for 3 and dismissed Bangladesh for 87, winning by 213 runs. This win secures them 634.3 points. India’s 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka, during 1984, follows next.

As far as the 2012 edition of the Asia Cup is concerned, this is a three-way contest between the three leading teams. Sri Lanka is the in-form team with their very strong showing in South Africa and Australia. If Bangladesh wins, it would be one great upset. Giving some weight for the recent form, the Team Strength Index values are as follows:


Both Pakistan and India are coming off poor tours to UAE and Australia respectively. However, Pakistan’s better bowling attack gives them the edge. On the whole, Sri Lanka are the first amongst equals and can be expected to have slightly more than the proverbial one-third chance of winning the Asian championship this year.