 "Asia Cup 2023 Full Schedule Announced: India vs Pakistan on 2 September, final on 17 in Colombo")
BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday announced the full schedule for the Asia Cup which takes place in the months of August and September and returns to the 50-over format. Shah made the announcement in a tweet, less than an hour before Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf was to officially make the announcement and unveil the trophy in Lahore. Hosts Pakistan take on tournament debutants Nepal in the opening game on 30 August, while the final takes place on 17 September in Colombo. The highly-anticipated India vs Pakistan clash will take place on 2 September in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Despite being the tournament hosts, only a handful of matches will be taking place in Pakistan, with the remainder of the tournament being hosted in Sri Lanka. This was after BCCI expressed reluctance over sending the Indian team to Pakistan, which led to the PCB offering a “hybrid model” as a solution that has since been accepted by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). India and hosts Pakistan are part of Group A alongside Nepal. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are part of the teams in Group B. There’s no change in format for this year’s Asia Cup other than the fact that T20Is will make way for ODIs. The top two teams from each group progress to the Super Four stage, where each team plays the other three on a round-robin basis. The top two sides at the end of the Super Four stage then face off in the final.
The tournament had taken place in the 20-over format last year in the UAE in the build-up to the T20 World Cup in Australia. Sri Lanka won the tournament after defeating Pakistan by 23 runs in the final in Dubai, winning their first major tournament since the 2014 World T20. India and Pakistan squared off twice in that tournament; while the Men in Blue won the first encounter by five wickets, Babar Azam and Co won the next one by a similar margin. Full schedule: Group Stage: 30 August: Pakistan vs Nepal in Multan, Pakistan 31 August: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 2 September: Pakistan vs India in Kandy, Sri Lanka 3 September: Bangladesh vs Pakistan in Lahore, Pakistan 4 September: India vs Nepal in Kandy, Sri Lanka 5 September: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka in Lahore, Pakistan Super Fours 6 September: A1 vs B2 in Lahore, Pakistan 9 September: B1 vs B2 in Colombo, Sri Lanka 10 September: A1 vs A2 in Colombo, Sri Lanka 12 September: A2 vs B1 in Colombo, Sri Lanka 14 September: A1 vs B1 in Colombo, Sri Lanka 15 September: A2 vs B2 in Colombo, Sri Lanka Final 17 September: Super Fours 1 vs 2 in Colombo, Sri Lanka Note: For the Super Four stage, the following pointers will apply: Irrespective of their positions after the first round: — Pakistan will remain A1 — India will remain A2 — If either of them (India or Pakistan) don’t qualify, then Nepal will take their position — Sri Lanka will remain B1 — Bangladesh will remain B2 — If either of them (Sri Lanka or Bangladesh) don’t qualify then Afghanistan will take their position