Asia Cup 2018 Schedule, Fixtures, Teams: Rohit Sharma will lead India as captain in the Asia Cup. (Source: File) Asia Cup 2018 Schedule, Fixtures, Teams: Rohit Sharma will lead India as captain in the Asia Cup. (Source: File) Asia Cup 2018 Schedule, Fixtures, Teams, Time Table, Match Date and Time: At the culmination of a grueling tour of the United Kingdom where India played Ireland and England, Men in Blue return to Asia to participate in multi-team tournament – the Asia Cup. Apart from India, five other nations – Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Hong Kong will participate in the tournament which will get underway from September 15. The tournament, which will run for nearly two weeks, will see Rohit Sharma leading India with Virat Kohli rested. Here is the full schedule of Asia Cup 2018: Asia Cup 2018 full schedule Group Stage 15 September: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai) – Bangladesh won by 137 runs 16 September: Pakistan vs Hong Kong (Dubai) – Pakistan won by 8 wickets 17 September: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) – Afghanistan won by 91 runs 18 September: India vs Hong Kong (Dubai) – India won by 26 runs 19 September: India vs Pakistan (Dubai) – India won by 8 wickets 20 September: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) – Afghanistan won by 136 runs Super Four 21 September: India vs Bangladesh (Dubai) – India won by 7 wickets 21 September: Pakistan vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) – Pakistan won by 3 wickets 23 September: India vs Pakistan (Dubai) – India won by 9 wickets 23 September: Afghanistan vs Bangladesh (Abu Dhabi) – Bangladesh won by 3 runs 25 September: India vs Afghanistan (Dubai) – Tied 26 September: Pakistan vs Bangladesh (Abu Dhabi) Final 28 September: Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai) Note: All the matches will begin at 1700 hrs IST (5 PM IST).<doc-sep>The 14th edition of the Asia Cup begins this week with Bangladesh taking on against five-time winners Sri Lanka in the lung opener on 15 September. The upcoming tournament will be hosted for the third time in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with six nations participating in the event. Defending champions India will begin their campaign against Hong Kong on 18 September in Dubai, followed by the marquee contest against Pakistan the next day. The six teams are divided into two groups with India, Pakistan and Hong Kong in Group A while Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will form Group B. The tournament will run for almost two weeks. Regular India captain Virat Kohli has been rested after a two-month long tour to England. In Kohli's absence, his deputy Rohit Sharma will lead India. Here is the full schedule of Asia Cup 2018: Asia Cup 2018 full schedule Group Stage 15 September: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai) 16 September: Pakistan vs Hong Kong (Dubai) 17 September: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) 18 September: India vs Hong Kong (Dubai) 19 September: India vs Pakistan (Dubai) 20 September: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four 21 September: Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 21 September: Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) 23 September: Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai) 23 September: Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) 25 September: Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai) 26 September: Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) Final 28 September: Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai) Note: All the matches will begin at 1700 hrs IST. Click here for all the latest news and updates related to Asia Cup<doc-sep>Dubai: At the time of writing, Sri Lanka were well on their way out of the Asia Cup on only Day Three of the tournament. It made for some wonderment as to the haphazard nature of the scheduling — Sri Lanka played two games in three days, Bangladesh and Pakistan play two games with four and three days’ gaps respectively, and India will play back-to-back matches this week. Multi-team tournaments are the way forward for limited-overs’ cricket, yet nonsensical scheduling — whether for the ODI World Cup or Asia Cup — are holding back their case. We are in 2018, and there is an international team slated to play two 50-over matches within 48 hours. Why couldn’t have Bangladesh and Afghanistan played on Wednesday, with the India-Pakistan clash then taking place on Thursday? This is the over-bearing thought as the Men in Blue got down to serious business ahead of their tournament opener versus Hong Kong. Six of their players — KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Shikhar Dhawan and Jasprit Bumrah — only arrived in Dubai on Sunday evening, and will head into Tuesday’s game with a single practice session under their belts. MS Dhoni was part of the Indian team that last played here in the UAE twelve years ago, when they played against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. Additionally, most of these Indian players have had a taste of UAE conditions in 2014, when one half of the Indian Premier League was hosted here. Even so, with the ever-changing setting in international cricket, it is more and more difficult to adapt to conditions quickly enough, and we have already witnessed that with Indian players in South Africa and England this year. UAE brings its own set of challenges, with energy sapping humidity in the afternoon. There are a plethora of T20 tournaments (and one T10 event) lined up for the winter months, but the Asia Cup has arrived a little too early for cooler temperatures. 40 degrees Celsius is the norm still, albeit it shouldn’t be a problem for Indian players. Again though, it is that stifling humidity which is a bigger factor, given that the Men in Blue will play back-to-back matches. It puts the Hong Kong game in perspective. Tuesday isn’t really about playing the minnows, or what they can do against the powerhouse of world cricket. Rather, it is about how much energy can India save in getting past this minor hurdle (no disrespect!) and simultaneously prepare for the intense clash against Pakistan. Perhaps, the biggest question herein is regarding team selection — do the Men in Blue pick their best eleven or rest a few key players ahead of Wednesday’s clash? The team selection quandary is an odd one. Star Sports, the official broadcaster, are already upset that India haven’t got Virat Kohli in their ranks. With the Lankans playing two listless games and Pakistan trampling Hong Kong, a second-choice Indian eleven on Tuesday might just drive someone at Star’s headquarters over the edge. Of course, as the BCCI pointed out, there is nothing they can do about it, and rightly so. Even so, it still leaves us with the selection, and it will be particularly interesting to see how the team management goes about lining up that middle-order. Kohli’s absence could help Rahul occupy the number three slot, albeit ruling him out of the number four situation — he simply cannot be a back-up opener and middle-order batsman at the same time. Over the last two months there has been so much noise about Ambati Rayudu’s omission from the England squad that it is a given he will bat at number four. Let it be said here though failing the Yo-Yo test was his fault. How can a professional cricketer, who had just finished with a hectic IPL season and had nearly 10 days before the test, not clear the same ahead of an important tour? Rayudu’s slip-up meant that both Rahul and Karthik were tested in England, and conclusions were drawn. The latter did well in Leeds, even if he did get out at the wrong time. Since then though, he has lost all confidence after a poor Test series and ought to be out of running for number four at present. Instead, he will joust with Manish Pandey and fit-again Kedar Jadhav for number six spot. Both Rayudu and Jadhav can turn their arms over, and in UAE’s sweltering heat along with its dry pitches, they will be useful in backing up Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. India will possibly line-up a full-strength bowling attack, but it remains to be seen if Jasprit Bumrah will sit out this first game on account of his recent heavy workload in England. It will allow a look at 20-year-old exciting left-arm prospect Khaleel Ahmed, as there is a dire need of expanding India’s pace reserves in the build-up to the World Cup. In that light, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s return to international cricket will also be closely monitored with another heavily packed season in the offing. Ironically, it all starts over again with a paltry opposition like Hong Kong on Tuesday. India will only be hoping to make quick work of them, like Pakistan did on Sunday.<doc-sep>Click here to follow live scores and updates of the Asia Cup 2018 match between India and Hong Kong in Dubai. The Asia Cup is into its third match as of Monday, with Sri Lanka battling for survival in the tournament while facing Afghanistan. India are the only side so far in the tournament to not have opened their account in the tournament, which they'll be doing on Tuesday when they take on Hong Kong in the second Group B clash. India will look to brush aside the disappointment of the 4-1 Test series loss at the hands of England in their recently-concluded tour when they begin their Asia Cup campaign, in which they start off as the defending champions. The biggest absence from the Indian team this time around will be that of captain Virat Kohli, who was rested by the selectors, with the leadership duties being taken over by Rohit Sharma. Rohit, who had earlier led India to title triumph in the Nidahas Trophy triangular series, will have MS Dhoni for company on the field as far as tactical inputs are concerned. Hong Kong, meanwhile, were hammered by Pakistan in the second match of the tournament. Opting to bat first, Hong Kong hardly got any partnerships coming their way, with Usman Khan and Hasan Ali emerging the leading wicket-takers for Pakistan to bundle the minnows out for a lowly 120. In response, Imam ul-Haq hit a fine half-century as the former champions won with eight wickets and more than 26 overs to spare. Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's Asia Cup clash between India and Hong Kong: When will the India vs Hong Kong fixture take place? The Asia Cup 2018 fixture between India and Hong Kong will take place on Tuesday, 18 September, 2018. Where will the match be played? The India vs Hong Kong match will be played at Dubai International Cricket Stadium What time does the match begin? The India vs Hong Kong match will begin at 5 pm IST Which TV channels will broadcast the India-Hong Kong match? The match will be telecast on Star Sports 1 and 1 HD, Select 1 and Select 1 HD and Hindi 1 and Hindi 1 HD. How do I watch the match online? The match will be live streamed on hotstar.com. You can also catch live updates on firstpost.com.<doc-sep>
The seasoned Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were among the limited overs specialists who left for Dubai on Thursday to take part in the Asia Cup. To be played in the 50-over format by six teams, the Asia Cup starts from Saturday. Apart from India, other Asian nations – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong will participate in the tournament which is slated to commence from Saturday, September 15. Virat Kohli has been rested from the Indian squad and Rohit Sharma will lead the team in his absence. Here is the full schedule of Asia Cup 2018: Asia Cup 2018 full schedule. All matches will begin at 17:00 hrs IST. Group Stage 15 September: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai) 16 September: Pakistan vs Hong Kong (Dubai) 17 September: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) 18 September: India vs Hong Kong (Dubai) 19 September: India vs Pakistan (Dubai) 20 September: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four 21 September: Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 21 September: Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) 23 September: Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai) 23 September: Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) 25 September: Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai) 26 September: Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi) Final 28 September: Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai) When is Asia Cup 2018 starting? Asia Cup 2018 will start on September 15, 2018 Where will Asia Cup 2018 be held? Asia Cup 2018 will be held in the United Arab Emirates What time does Asia Cup matches begin? The matches will begin at 17:00 hrs IST Which TV channels will broadcast Asia Cup 2018? Asia Cup 2018 will be shown on the Star Sports Network. How do I watch online live streaming of the Asia Cup? Asia Cup 2018 live streaming will be available on Hotstar. You can also catch the live updates on https://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/