Cricket: Sri Lanka to co-host 3rd ACC Emerging Asia Cup

Colombo, Sri Lanka and Karachi, Pakistan will be the venues for the upcoming 3rd Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Asia Cup 2018.

The eight-team competition will be played at the two cities from December 6 to 15 with the final set to be played at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. 

The five full members of the ICC, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, along with three Associate Members, the United Arab Emirate, Hong Kong and Oman are set to battle in the 10-day competition.

The five Full Member teams should include 11 Under-23 players and four players above the age category, while the three Associate Member teams will be represented by their current full side. 

This decision by the ACC has been made to balance the competition, which is one of the important in the region. 

The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each with Group 'A' consisting of India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Oman as all games have been scheduled to be played at the Colombo Cricket Club ground and R. Premadasa International Stadium. 

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Oman will be competing under Group 'B' and will be played at two different venues in Karachi.

After the completion of the group stage games, the knockout stage will be played in Colombo. 

India beat Pakistan to win the inaugural competition played in Singapore while Sri Lanka are the defending champions, after they beat Pakistan in Bangladesh. 

Tournament Schedule

Group ‘A’ 

December 7:
Sri Lanka vs Oman at RPICS, Colombo
India vs Afghanistan at CCC ground, Colombo

December 8:
Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan at CCC ground, Colombo
India vs Oman at RPICS, Colombo

December 10:
Sri Lanka vs India at RPICS, Colombo
Afghanistan vs Oman at CCC ground, Colombo

Group ‘B’ 

December 6:
Pakistan vs Hong Kong at National Stadium, Karachi
Bangladesh vs UAE at Shahzad ground, Karachi

December 7:
Pakistan vs UAE at National Stadium, Karachi
Bangladesh vs Hong Kong at Shahzad ground, Karachi

December 9:
Pakistan vs Bangladesh at National Stadium, Karachi
UAE vs Hong Kong at Shahzad ground, Karachi

Knockout Stage 

December 13:
Semi-final 1: Group 'B' Winner vs Group 'A' Runner-up at RPICS, Colombo
Semi-final 2: Group 'A' Winner vs Group 'B' Runner-up at CCC ground, Colombo

December 15:
Final: Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF 2 at RPICS, Colombo