Asia Cup 2023

[Kriterion_BD]

2nd biggest cricket tournament after the World Cup is starting in just a few days. Interesting tournament.

Pakistan are the new #1 ODI side...this means anything less than a final will be a failure. Will be interesting to see how they go about their business.
India are always favorites, and with the return of Bumrah, Iyer, and others they are at full strength for the first time in a loooong time.
Bangladesh are missing a couple key players (Tamim and Ebadot) but won't worry unless they miss the World Cup as well. The Final is their target.
Afghanistan are always threatening and will use this tournament to work out the right combinations to use. Batting is far improved now.
Sri Lanka are also missing a couple of stalwarts but even with them, its hard to see them push for a top 2 finish.

Regardless, there are a lot of exciting players on all 5 squads and it will be intresting to see how the WC tune up goes.

[Pat_Bee]

Hope Pakistan win, they got the quality and I got a soft spot for them after kicking around with hijabis from the punjab.

India will be on with escapades and shenanigans to steer things in their favour like always.

Zimdesh might pull a shock or two out the bag and will be battling for 3rd or 4th place.

Afghan shouldn’t even be there. Flouting ICC regulations far worse than we ever did when they banned us.

Sri Lanka, I know literally nothing about their cricket lol.

[slcricfan1]

Will be stupid fun. SL are fucked. Pak or Bd to win.

[Kriterion_BD]

Lot of injuries for SL.

India and PAK seem strongest but can’t rule out Bangladesh if they get into their groove.

Nepal making their debut and Lamichane is back too.

[Kriterion_BD]

Nepal very comprehensively beaten as expected. Babar with a daddy hundred, his 19th so far.

At 120-4, and the run rate not crazy, NEP had actually gotten off to a pretty decent start. Hopefully a lot to learn from this tournament.

[Pat_Bee]

More of a cat’s miaow than a tiger’s roar that. Terribly let down Mst Monira and all the boys in East Pakistan who are watching hey.

[slcricfan1]

haha bd just cant get one over us.

[Kriterion_BD]

haha bd just cant get one over us.

I was shocked to see SL had won 3 of the last 5. I feel that Bangladesh has dominated the ODI battle since 2018 or so.

BD face a must win game vs Afghanistan and need a good run rate too.

[Kriterion_BD]

Bangladesh have stagnated in ODIs in the last year or so. It was just two years ago that they beat a full strength South Africa side in SA, but since then they have lost to both Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. Obviously its just one game in the Asia Cup, and we can still turn it around with a series vs New Zealand upcoming before the World Cup. However, the past 12 months results cannot be ignored. Sri Lanka have a pedigree and may be an improved side...but Bangladesh need to get stability at the top of the order. And that is where the root of the problem lies IMO.

Our top order is weak. Tamim Iqbal has been injured more often than not lately, and even when he's played he's been in poor form. He's only crossed 50 once in the last 11 innings - dating back 13 months. Furthermore, his last hundred was more than 2 years ago! Liton Das has been in great form in Tests, but his ODI form has yet to catch up. His career average drops from 34 to 26 when you only include games vs top 10 opposition. Shanto has been very stable at #3, but its only been 6 months and the biggest test will be the Asia Cup and WC tournaments.

The middle order is strong and multi-dimensional, but needs a good platform especially on trickier surfaces. Shakib, Towhid, and Mushfiq can all keep the score ticking along but also graft an innings as necessary.

Lower order is inconsistent, but with Mehidy Miraz, there is real potential to bat deep. The problem is that despite some improvements, all of Taskin, Fizz, Shoriful, Hasan, and Ebadot are genuine #11s with the willow. Taskin is perhaps the only one who can say he's a 10. Its imperative that they can add 10-15 runs at better than a run a ball in white ball cricket.

I think the bowling actually sorts itself out. The only glaring weakness is the need for a wrist spinner (alas!), but the finger spinners are solid in Shakib and Miraz, and the seam bowling attack has both pace, and the ability to swing the ball in helpful conditions.

[Crastle_cog]

Only game where I actively support India to win in cricket