FIERCE rivals Pakistan and India will meet in Sri Lanka on September 2 for their first one-day international clash in four years, according to the Asia Cup schedule announced Wednesday (19).
The six-nation tournament starts on August 30 with four matches in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka – including the highly anticipated Indo-Pakistan match in Kandy.
Colombo will host five Super Four stage games, as well as the final on September 19.
Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are in Group B.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage, and if both Pakistan and India qualify, they will meet again in Colombo on September 10.
The top two teams from Super Four stage will play the final.
The Asia Cup will be played to 50-overs to allow five of the six teams – excluding Nepal – to tune up for the ODI World Cup from October 5 to November 19.
The Asia Cup fixture announcement ends a year-long stand-off after India refused to tour the host country Pakistan because of political tensions, raising doubts over the holding of the event.
Earlier this month, a hybrid model was agreed upon, with four matches in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka.
India stalled all bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan in the wake of 2008 Mumbai attacks which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad-backed militants.
The Asia Cup, first played in 1984, was also victim to strained relations after India withdrew from the event in 1986, and Pakistan did not participate four years later.
The South Asian rivals only play in multi-national events with their last bilateral series in 2012.
Their last ODI was in the 2019 World Cup in England.
The schedule
30 Aug – Pakistan v Nepal, Multan
31 Aug – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Kandy
2 Sep – Pakistan v India, Kandy
3 Sep – Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Lahore
4 Sep – India v Nepal, Kandy
5 Sep – Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, Lahore
6 Sep – A1 v B2 (Super-4), Lahore
9 Sep – B1 v B2 (Super-4), Colombo
10 Sep – A1 v A2 (Super-4), Colombo
12 Sep – A2 v B1 (Super-4), Colombo
14 Sep – A1 v B1 (Super-4), Colombo
15 Sep – A2 v B2, (Super-4), Colombo
17 Sep – Final – 1 v 2, Colombo
18 Sep – Reserve day for the final
(AFP)
