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Pakistan is the team to beat in the Asian Cup

The cross-country camaraderie of the IPL will be forgotten when the traditional rivalries at this tournament resume. India and Pakistan are fierce opponents and, together with Sri Lanka, will provide the winner. Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong are there to fill in the numbers, although the Tigers will advance to the semifinals with Sri Lanka and hope to claim a great scalp at some point.

India is the most successful team in Asian Cup history, winning four of the eight tournaments to be held and starting as a favorite to win again. They are the top ranked team and they showed in the IPL that they have a good group of one-day players. Captain MS Dhoni leads a talented group of players including Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Gautham Gambhir and they have the firepower with the bat and ball to succeed.

Reigning champions Sri Lanka has been strong at 50 points over cricket for some time, beating India en route to finishing runners-up in last year’s world cup final. They have an experienced lineup with Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, and Kumar Sangakkara. However, they have had a losing streak of results since the world cup, failing to win a significant series, losing to Pakistan, England, India, Australia and the West Indies.

Pakistan enters the tournament with great confidence after winning the Kitply Cup. Their victory over India in the final of that miniseries bodes well for their group clash at the Asian Cup, an important match as the winner avoids a likely semi-final with Sri Lanka.

Victory in this tournament would be a huge boost for cricket Pakistan, 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.

The Pakistan team is not enough and it is time for the talented team to act as a unit as it did when they won the 2000 tournament. Misbah-Ul-Haq and Sohail Tanvir have a bright future in cricket ahead. They typify the mercurial talents of the team and can be the respective hitting and bowling stars of the tournament.

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