Asia Cup Cricket 2008

Asia Cup Cricket 2008

Asia Cup Cricket 2008 in Pakistan

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Asia Cup Cricket 2008

Asia Cup Cricket 2008

The Ninth Edition of the Asia Cup will be held at Pakistan in june 2008. Get the latest news of Asia Cup Cricket 2008 →

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Asia Cup Cricket 2008

The 2008 Asia Cup will take place in Pakistan in June 2008. Six teams are expected to take part in the tournament, including Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UAE. This will be the first Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan; previously political tensions between India and Pakistan did not permit Pakistan to host the event.

Asia Cup Cricket 2008 News

IND v SL, Final, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka beat India by 100 runs in Asia Cup final

July 06, 2008
Ajantha Mendis broke India's back with a mesmerising six-wicket haul as Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup cricket tournament with a facile 100-run victory at Karachi.
Chasing 274, India's much-vaunted batting attack was bamboozled by Mendis' bag of tricks and the mystery spinner emerged as the wrecker-in-chief to bundle out India for 173 in just 39.3 overs. Mendis' bowling figures read an impressive 8-1-13-6 and this was the first six-wicket haul in the Asia Cup history.
IND v SL, Final, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka 273 all out (49.5 overs) beat India 173 all out (39.3 overs) by 100 runs

PAK v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan beats Bangladesh by 10 wickets in Super Four

July 04, 2008
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets Friday in the last Super Four match of the Asia Cup.
Pakistan finished with four points, two fewer than Sunday's finalists - defending champion Sri Lanka and India. Opening batsmen Salman Butt (56) and Nasir Jamshed (52) both scored unbeaten half centuries for Pakistan as it won with 116-0 in 19.4 overs. Earlier, Pakistan pacemen Abdur Rauf (3-24) and Rao Iftikhar (2-20) helped to dismiss Bangladesh for only 115 in 38.2 overs. Butt hit 10 fours and faced 62 balls while Jamshed smashed five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten knock off 56 deliveries.
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful's decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired with Pakistan seamers exploiting the overcast conditions. Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal top scored with 26 and was one of Rauf's three wickets.
Iftikhar, who was hit for three boundaries in his first over, came back strongly and bowled six maiden overs in his spell of 10 steady overs. Rauf started the Bangladesh rout on his second delivery when Nazimuddin mistimed a pull shot and skied an easy catch to Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik for three.
Ashraful (14) added 41 runs with Iqbal before Bangladesh lost three wickets for three runs in eight deliveries. Ashraful hit Rauf for a six over mid-wicket before he lost his patience on the next delivery and gave an easy catch to Misbah-ul-Haq at gully.
Raqibul Hasan pulled Sohail Tanvir's first ball to Iftikhar at fine leg before Rauf found an edge off Iqbal's bat as Bangladesh slipped to 49-4. Alok Kapali, who scored a century against India last Saturday, made 17 before he became Iftikhar's first victim when he gave an easy catch in the slips while Mashrafe Mortaza was trapped leg before wicket to Iftikhar. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (2-19) finished off the innings when he had Farhad Reza stumped as Bangladesh was bowled out with 11.4 overs remaining.
PAK v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan 116 for 0 (19.4 overs) beats Bangladesh 115 all out (38.2 overs) by 10 wickets

IND v SL, Asia Cup 2008: India reach Asia Cup final with Sri Lanka win

July 03, 2008
Mahendra Singh Dhoni led India to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Karachi to secure their place in the final of the Asia Cup.
Dhoni hit 67 from 62 deliveries in the Super Four match, while Suresh Raina provided decent support with 54, as India capitalised on a good start by Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, the opening batsmen who scored 68 and 42 respectively. Sri Lanka had earlier set a target of 308 for eight, thanks to Chamara Kapugedera's 75, fifties from Mahela Jayawardene and Chamara Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya's 43. India overhauled that target in 46.5 overs, with Yuvraj Sing, who hit 36, and Rohit Sharma supplying the finishing touches.
India's win renders today's match between Pakistan and Bangladesh inconsequential as the host side have no chance of making the final. Sri Lanka, who had topped the Super Four table with six points prior to this defeat, had already qualified. India's bowlers turned in a much-improved performance, with Ishant Sharma picking up early wickets, but shoddy fielding and Kapugedera's fine innings helped Sri Lanka to a challenging total.
Sehwag and Gambhir set about the chase briskly, bringing up India's 50 in only 39 deliveries. Dilhara Fernando, one of two additions made to the Sri Lanka side, in particular, was subject to some hard hitting as he conceded 28 runs in his first three overs. The departure of Sehwag gave Sri Lanka some respite, but Raina quickly found his rhythm and added 42 runs for the second wicket with Gambhir. But as with Sehwag's dismissal, the scoring rate dipped marginally after Gambhir's departure.
Dhoni then took up the chase and eased to a half-century - his second in as many days - off 49 deliveries. By the time he departed, India had victory within their grasp.
IND v SL, Asia Cup 2008: India 310 for 4 (46.5 overs) beat Sri Lanka 308 for 8 (50.0 overs) by 6 wickets

IND v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: Younis brilliant unbeaten century takes Pakistan home

July 02, 2008
Younis Khan hit for a century and an under-strength Pakistan beat India by eight wickets Wednesday to revive its hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final.
Younis hit an unbeaten 123 off 117 balls and stand-in captain Misbah-ul-Haq scored an undefeated 70 off 62 deliveries, enabling Pakistan to reach the 309-run target in 45.3 overs for the loss of two wickets.
Earlier, Pakistan's second-choice bowlers restricted India to 308 for seven from its 50 overs on a flat batting wicket with fast bowler Rao Iftikhar taking three for 51. Younis hit 11 fours and a six and, together with Misbah, shared a match-winning 144-run unbeaten third-wicket stand off 123 deliveries.
Playing in his 174th one-day international, Younis also became the ninth Pakistani batsmen to score 5,000 runs when he pulled leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for a boundary and reached 37.
The result left India requiring to beat defending champion Sri Lanka on Thursday to assure itself of qualifying for the final. Pakistan, which lost to India by six wickets in the group stage, faces Bangladesh in its Super Four game Friday and if India loses Thursday, the home team could qualify for the July 6 final against Sri Lanka.
IND v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan 309 for 2 (45.3 overs) beat India 308 for 7 (50.0 overs) by 8 wickets

IND v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: India look to seal spot in final

July 02, 2008
A 64-run deafeat against Sri Lanka and Pakistan are staring at imminent elimination from the on-going Asia Cup. The green brigade needs to win both their remaining matches to have a slim chance of qualifying for the final.
India is in a much better position and a win would put them in the title clash against Sri Lanka, a repeat of the 2004 final in Colombo. On the other hand, after a three-day break Team India will look to seal a place in the final against Sri Lanka with a win at Karachi against Pakistan.
The Indian players enjoyed a two-day break from cricket after captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni complained that the tournament schedule was too tight and had left the players tired. Kirsten said it was very important to give the players some time off from cricket. "We are now back to cricket, but it is very important to give guys some time off the cricket so that we did that and now guys are back and focusing on next two games," he said.
The Indian batting is solid as ever with Gambhir and Sehwag giving the explosive starts and the middle order of Raina, Yuvraj and Dhoni there to finish the job. The batting makes up for the slightly weak bowling but the biggest worry for the team has been their fielding.

SL v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka enters Asia Cup finals

June 30, 2008
Defending Champion Sri Lanka stormed into the final of 9th Cricket Asia Cup when they inflicted a massive 158 runs defeat on Bangladesh in their second super four round tie at National Stadium on Monday with Muttiah Muraltharan grabbing five wickets.
Record 201 opening wickets stand between Sanath Jayasuriya (130) and Kumar Sangakkara (121) saw Sri Lanka accumulating 332 for the loss of eight wickets. Spinning wizard Muttiah Muralitharan mesmerized his opponents with his off-breaks claiming five wickets for 31.runs in ten overs as Bangladesh in reply was bowled out for 174 in 38.3 overs.
This was Murli’s first five wicket haul in four years and his ninth overall in 308 ODI which raised his tally to 472 wickets, second behind Wasim Akram (502). Sri Lanka raised their points tally to six points which included two carry forward points to assure their place in July 6 final. Leg-spinner Ajantha. Mendis extended Muralitharan good support by claiming two wickets for 29 runs in 7.3 overs.
Raqibul Hasan top-scored with 52 and Nizamuddin made 47 but rest of their batting caved against the master spinner Muralitharan and Mendis.
Raqib got his fourth ODI in his 13th match, striking seven boundaries in an enterprising knock of 63 balls and opener Nizam’s adventurous 59-balls innings contained seven 4s and one six.
SL v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka 332 for 8 (50.0 overs) beat Bangladesh 174 all out (38.3 overs) by 158 runs

SL v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: Sangakkara, Mendis shine in Sri Lankan win

June 29, 2008
Kumar Sangakkara hit a fighting hundred and spinner Ajanta Mendis took four wickets to power Sri Lanka to a 64-run win over Pakistan in their Asia Cup Super League clash on Sunday.
The left-hander scored 112 to lift Sri Lanka to 302-7 after Pakistani paceman Sohail Tanveer notched up career-best figures of 5-48. Mendis, who took 4-47, then unleashed his quality spin to restrict Pakistan to 238-9 in 50 overs on a slow National Stadium pitch.
For Pakistan, Misbah-ul Haq enjoyed a late flurry, smashing four sixes and three fours during his 70-ball 76 but by then the asking rate of 15 an over was beyond Pakistan's reach. Skipper Shoaib Malik also hit a subdued 52 off 79 balls with three boundaries but the Pakistani batsmen could not cope with the accurate Sri Lankan bowling.
Sri Lanka, who qualified for the Super League stage with two carry over points, boosted their chances of reaching the July 6 final with the victory. They now have four points and take on Bangladesh on Monday. The defeat left Pakistan all but out of the event. They now have to win both their matches against India (Wednesday) and Bangladesh (Friday) and hope India also lose to Sri Lanka to have a chance of qualifying for the final.
SL v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka 302 for 7 (50.0 overs) beat Pakistan 238 for 9 (50.0 overs) by 64 runs

IND v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Raina shines again as India humble Bangladesh by seven wickets

June 28, 2008
In-form Suresh Raina smashed his second century of the competition with a classy unbeaten 116 to lead India to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a super four match of the Asia Cup at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday.
Opener Gautam Gambhir pitched in with a strokeful 90 off 84 balls in the top order to set up the stage for Raina who hit 11 sixes and three fours in his 107-ball innings. The superb batting by the two Indian left handers overshadowed a spectacular 115 runs from Alok Kapali who hit his maiden century to steer Bangladesh to their highest total of 283 for six against India.
India finished on a convincing 284 for three in 43.2 overs with Raina hitting the winning run, a single off Abdur Razzak, despite resting Virender Sehwag, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla. It was India's fourth straight win in the six-nation competition and it brought them closer to a place in the final as they now have four points in the super league stage having carried over two from the qualifying round.
Raina, who has been in excellent form in the competition, followed up his scores of 101 (against Hong Kong) and 84 (against Pakistan) with an unbeaten 116 from 107 balls reaching his second career hundred by glancing spinner Abdul Razzak for a boundary in the 40th over. Raina and Gambhir put on a spectacular 139 from 133 balls for the third wicket while the centurion teamed up for an unbeaten stand of 89 from 70 balls with Yuvraj Singh (36) to finish off the match.
Raina's 100 from 93 balls included 10 fours and two sixes while Gambhir stroked 10 fours and one six in his 84-ball innings.
IND v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: India 284 for 3 (43.2 overs) beat Bangladesh 283 for 6 (50.0 overs) by 7 wickets

IND v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: Sehwag powers India to 6 wicket win against Pakistan

June 26, 2008
Familiar Pakistan nemesis Virender Sehwag (119) slammed a violent century while Suresh Raina (84) too matched his aggression as India cantered to a facile six-wicket win with 7.5 overs to spare against the arch-rivals in the Asia Cup cricket tournament at Karachi.
It was sweet revenge for the Indians who just two weeks ago were outclassed by Pakistan in the Kitply tri-series final in Dhaka. With Sehwag and Raina on fire, India cruised to 301 for four in only 42.1 overs after Pakistan appeared to have set a competitive target by making 299 for four.
The hosts' innings revolved around 125 from captain Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan's 59 on a good batting track. Malik didn't field after retiring with cramps while pacer Umar Gul also went off with a rib cage injury after sending down just 1.2 overs.
But under lights, Sehwag showed just how good the track was when he savaged the attack scoring his ninth hundred. He and Raina put on a record 198 runs for the second wicket from 149 balls before the stand was broken in the 28th over.
The stand was remarkable as it came after Pakistan's stand in captain Misbah-ul-Haq had brought off a spectacular one-handed catch at wide slip to get rid of Gautam Ghambir (9) in the third over and the players were on a high.
IND v PAK, Asia Cup 2008: India 301 for 4 (42.1 overs) beat Pakistan 299 for 4 (50.0 overs) by 6 wickets

SL v UAE, Asia Cup 2008: Mendis spins Lanka to win against UAE

June 26, 2008
Ajantha Mendis shined for Sri Lanka taking career-best figures of 5 for 22 as his team cruised to a big 142-run win over United Arab Emirates in the Asia Cup cricket tournament at the Gaddafi stadium at Lahore.
Mendis spun out UAE for 148 in 36.3 overs with the minnows losing their last six wickets for only 15 runs. Sri Lanka had set a target of 291 for the UAE team after electing to bat first with Mahela Jayawardene (61) and opener Mahela Udawatte (67) sharing a second-wicket stand of 114 runs after opener Kumar Sangakkara fell for a first over duck to Zahid Shah.
Shah finished with 3 for 49 while Mohammad Tauqir and Fahad Alhashmi, both UAE locals, took two wickets each. UAE made a good start through wicketkeeper opener, Amjad Ali who hails from Lahore.
Ali smashed 77 from 79 balls with 12 fours to give UAE a solid start of 95 for one. He eventually fell to part-time offie Tillakratne Dilshan, which triggered a batting collapse. Mendis sent down only 6.3 overs to take his flattering figures that exposed the inexperience of the UAE team at the top level.
The Sri Lanka total underwent several hiccups after the first over dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara for a duck before Udawatte and Jayawardene made fifties in a second wicket stand of 114 from 82 balls. But from the strong position of 114 for one they lost wickets regularly to slip to 180 for 5 and eventually 209 for 7 before some fine rearguard action by Kaushal Weeraratne (40) and Nuwan Kulasekera (37) took them to a total that was beyond the inexperienced emirates side.
For the UAE outfit playing in their second Asia Cup, their local player, Fahad Alhashmi took two wickets while nother local Mohammad Tauqir in his fourth game also bowled well.
SL v UAE, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka 290 for 9 (50.0 overs) beat UAE 148 all out (36.3 overs) by 142 runs

IND v HK, Asia Cup 2008: India beat Hong Kong by 256 runs

June 25, 2008
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina hit centuries and led India to a 256-run victory against inexperienced Hong Kong in the Asia Cup on Wednesday.
India posted the Asia Cup's biggest ever score of 374-4 off 50 overs then bowled Hong Kong for 118 in 36.5 overs. Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 109 off 96 balls while left-handed Raina entertained with his maiden century, 101 off just 68 deliveries. Dhoni then featured in three stumpings behind the wickets off legspinner Piyush Chawlam, who took 4-23.
The defeat eliminated Hong Kong, a day after it lost its first group match against Pakistan by 155 runs. India will take on archrival Pakistan in the last group match on Thursday to decide the top two finishers for the Super Four stage.
IND v HK, Asia Cup 2008: India 374 for 4 (50.0 overs) beat Hong Kong 118 (36.4 overs) by 256 runs

SL v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Sangakkara's century helps Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh

June 25, 2008
Kumar Sangakkara's eighth ODI century Wednesday powered defending champion Sri Lanka to a 131-run win against Bangladesh in a Group A match of the Asia Cup.
Sangakkara hit 16 boundaries for 101 off 91 balls while Chamara Kapugedera (74) and Sanath Jayasuriya (72) also put up strong batting displays in Sri Lanka's total of 357-9. Bangladesh never looked to challenge the experienced bowling attack of Sri Lanka and preferred to play out 50 overs and were restricted to 226-7.
Mushfiqur Rahim let Bangladesh with 44 while Mashrafe Mortaza remained unbeaten on 34. Despite the defeat, Bangladesh is expected to advance to the Super Four stage as it defeated United Arab Emirates by 96 runs Tuesday.
Sri Lanka takes on United Arab Emirates in the last group match Thursday and is likely to finish on top of Group A with two victories. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful's decision to bowl first after he won the toss backfired as Jayasuriya and Sangakkara put on 116 runs off 89 balls. Left-arm spinner Abdul Razzak had Jayasuriya clean bowled but not before the left-handed hard-hitter had hit 10 boundaries and three sixes off 47 balls. Captain Mahela Jayawardene struggled for six before he too was bowled by Razzak.
SL v BAN, Asia Cup 2008: Sri Lanka 357 for 9 (50.0 overs) beat Bangladesh 226 for 7 (50.0 overs) by 131 runs

PAK v HK, Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan beat Hong Kong by 155 runs

June 24, 2008
Pakistan made Hong Kong realise the gruels of top-level international cricket, handing them a crushing 155-run defeat in a Group B match of the Asia Cup at National stadium on Tuesday night.
Electing to bat, Pakistan overcame early hiccups to post an imposing 288 for nine and then stopped Hong Kong at 133 for nine in 37.2 overs to make an easy winning start. Hong Kong innings folded without losing all ten wickets as Zain Abbas did not complete his innings after retiring at individual score of 26, which was also highest for them.
Hong Kong, led by Tabarak Dar, did well in the first part stopping Pakistan from reaching 300 but scoring against experienced attack was the real test of their batting line up. Sohail Tanvir put up a brilliant all round show in Pakistan's victory as he first played a crucial 59-run knock and then picked up two wickets to pile up agony for Hong Kong.
The pace trio of Tanvir (2/20), Umar Gul and Iftikhar Anjum (2/18) intimidated, bruised and then devastated the opponent batting. Tanvir, Anjum and spinning all rounder Shahid Afridi, who once again failed with the bat, shared six wickets among them.
PAK v HK, Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan 288 for 9 (50.0 overs) beat Hong Kong 133 for 9 (37.2 overs) by 155 runs

BAN v UAE, Asia Cup 2008: Bangladesh beat UAE by 96 runs

June 24, 2008
Skipper Mohammed Ashraful scored his second one-day hundred to lead Bangladesh to a comprehensive 96-run win against against United Arab Emirates in a Group A match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament on Tuesday.
Riding on Ashraful's superb 109-run knock and Raqibul Hasan's blazing 83, Bangladesh made 300 for eight, after deciding to bat at the Gaddafi stadium. In reply, the UAE team put up a good fight but were folded for 204 in 45.4 overs.
Khurram Habib (78) smashed a brilliant half-century but his valiant effort was not enough to eke out a win as other batsmen failed to perform. Habib took just 81-balls for his knock, studded with eight shots to the fence. Opener Arsahd Ali also batted well for his 41. Bangladesh spinner Abdur Razzak was the most successful bowler with figures of 10-2-20-3 while Mahmudullah and Alok Kapali took two wickets apiece.
BAN v UAE, Asia Cup 2008: Bangladesh 300 for 8 (50.0 overs) beat UAE 204 all out (45.3 overs) by 96 runs
Editor: Nishanth Gopinathan.