The cross-country camaraderie of the IPL will all be forgotten when traditional rivalries are resumed in this tournament. India and Pakistan are fierce opponents and, along with Sri Lanka, will provide the winner. Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong are there to make up the numbers, although the Tigers will progress to the semi finals with Sri Lanka and will hope to claim a major scalp at some point. India are the most successful team in Asia Cup history, winning four of the eight tournaments to be held and will start as favourites to win again.
They are highest ranked team and proved in the IPL that they have a good pool of one day players. Captain MS Dhoni leads a talented set of players that include Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Gautham Gambhir and they have the firepower with bat and ball to succeed. Holders Sri Lanka have been strong in 50 over cricket for some time, beating India on the way to finishing runners up in last year's world cup final. They have an experienced line-up featuring Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas and Kumar Sangakkara. However, they have had a poor run of results since the world cup, failing to win a significant series, losing against Pakistan, England, India, Australia and West Indies. Pakistan go into the tournament high in confidence after winning the Kitply cup.
Their victory over India in the final of that mini-series bodes well for their group clash in the Asia cup, an important match as the winner avoids a likely semi final with Sri Lanka. Victory in this tournament would be a major boost for Pakistan cricket, which has had to survive the death of its coach during a terrible world cup campaign and a series of controversies surrounding star bowlers Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar. Pakistan's team underachieves and it is time the gifted squad performed as a unit as they did in winning the 2000 tournament. Misbah-Ul-Haq and Sohail Tanvir have bright futures in cricket ahead of them. They typify the mercurial talents of the team and can be the respective batting and bowling stars of the tournament. Another reason for backing Pakistan in the tournament betting is their home advantage. Every time one of the big three hosts the tournament (Sri Lanka 1986, India 1990, Sri Lanka 1997 and Sri Lanka 2004) they have also finished as winners.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Philip_Oliver/197938
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