Asia Cup 2022: India out of contention for final even before last match against Afghanistan

Asia Cup final after Pakistan beat Afghanistan by one wicket in a tense 'Super 4' match in Sharjah. Winless in two matches, both India and Afghanistan are out of the tournament and Thursday's match between the two sides here has been rendered inconsequential. With four points each from two wins apiece, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sealed their places in the summit clash to be played on Sunday.

Read AlsoPakistan vs Afghanistan Highlights: Pakistan beat Afghanistan by one wicket to qualify for Asia Cup final, India out of contention

Naseem Shah probably hit the two most important sixes to protect Pakistan’s ego on a Wednesday night that broke millions of Afghan hearts and knocked India out of the Asia Cup. Naseem's hefty blows may not match the Javed Miandad's last-ball six off Chetan Sharma from 1986, it would hurt Indian fans

After convincing wins over arch-rivals Pakistan and Hong Kong in the group matches, India looked clueless in the Super 4 stage. They lost to Pakistan by five wickets and then slumped to a six-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in a close match. Despite the losses, India still had a mathematical chance to qualify for Sunday's final if Afghanistan had beaten Pakistan on Wednesday. Besides, India were also required to beat Afghanistan by a big margin on Thursday and for Sri Lanka to do a favour by beating Pakistan on Friday.

Read AlsoAsia Cup 2022, India vs Afghanistan: How constant shuffling of players has hurt Team India

Four years ago, when he stood in for regular captain Virat Kohli in the 50-over Asia Cup here in the UAE, Rohit Sharma had claimed that the constant chopping and changing in the middle order was not going to help India's cause in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.

India's fate had slipped out