Dubai (Agencies): The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the schedule for Asia Cup 2018.
Defending champions India will face arch-rivals Pakistan on September 19 in Dubai.
Last time, both Pakistan and India had met in the final of Champions Trophy 2017, where Pakistan inflicted a tremendous defeat to India.
Pakistan and India have previously played 24 ODIs in Sharjah and two in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan have been dominant in the UAE, winning 19 of the contests.
Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka in the opener of the biennial tournament that runs from September 15 to 28, according to a statement from the International Cricket Council (ICC). India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are all confirmed participants, with the remaining spot still up for grabs amongst hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Oman, Nepal, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Group A consists of India, Pakistan and the qualifier while Group B comprises of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 4 and two teams will then play the final on September 28 here.
Asia Cup 2018 full schedule
Group Stage
15 Sept – BAN vs SRL (Dubai)
16 Sept – PAK vs Qualifier (Dubai)
17 Sept – SRL vs AFG (Abu Dhabi)
18 Sept – IND vs Qualifier (Dubai)
19 Sept – IND vs PAK (Dubai)
20 Sept- BAN vs AFG (Abu Dhabi)
Super Four
21 Sept – Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
21 Sept – Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
23 Sept- Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
23 Sept – Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
25 Sept – Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai)
26 Sept – Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Final
28 Sept – Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai)
