The Indian cricket team will take on arch-rivals Pakistan amid high tensions between the two countries for the second time in the tournament as the two teams kick off their campaign in the Super 4 stage of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday (September 21).
In the first meeting between the two teams in the group stage, the Men in Blue annihilated the Men in Green by seven wickets as they chased a total of 128 with 25 balls to spare. While skipper Suryakumar made an unbeaten knock of 47 in 37 balls, it was Kuldeep Yadav who won the Player of the Match (POTM) award for a spell of 3-18.
Why Does India Have 0 Points?
While India won the first fixture, it does not count for anything anymore as the second round started with a blank slate. Both India and Pakistan, as well as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, started the second round with 0 points. Unlike the formats of the 2003 and 2007 World Cup where the second round was a Round Robin (Super 8 and Super 8) after a group stage like the Asia Cup, no points are carrry forwarded here.
For those unversed in the 1999, 2003, and 2007 World Cup, the two teams from the same group did not meet each other in the second round. For example, there was no Australia-India match in the Super 6 of the 2003 World Cup, with the Ricky Ponting-led side carrying forward their two points.
However, the Asia Cup format is different as the two teams from the same group meet each other, and the winner of the group stage teams do not carry forward points.
This format has been in place since the 2018 edition and was also used in 2022 and 2023.
The scenario has proved costly for Sri Lanka, which beat Bangladesh in the group stage but lost the opening Super Four game, meaning they have 0 points with two matches left.