Asia Cup 2018: 3 best knocks from the group stages

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It has been an exciting first half of the tournament at the Asia Cup 2018, dotted with a few upsets after Sri Lanka bowed out of the competition following successive defeats to Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the group stage. And, from Group A, as expected, Hong Kong was the team to be knocked out after they nearly pulled off a charismatic win against the reigning champions.

Now it all boils down to the final four teams in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan as to which two make the cut for the final on September 28. India are now termed as one of the top contenders, especially after their comprehensive win against Pakistan, while there's nothing to choose between the rest of the teams.

The group matches, which were played on slow and low wickets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, had nothing to offer for the bowlers. As a result, the batsmen enjoyed some good time in the middle, though the tournament hasn't witnessed any high-scoring games as bowling attacks have gone about their business with ease.

Here's a look at some of the best knocks so far in the tournament:

#3 Nizakat Khan, 92 vs India

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In Hong Kong's do-or-die game against India, the openers came to the party as the duo of Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath nearly pulled off an upset against the World No..2 ODI giants. They managed to stitch together a game-defining 174-run opening stand as Indian bowlers were left scratching their heads in due course.

The partnership was led by the 26-year old Nizakat Khan, who took the onus upon himself to take the attack to the opposition in sight of a huge 285 runs total. The youngster thrashed the bowlers in all parts of the ground for his 115-ball 92 runs. It was a jaw-dropping performance but unfortunately, the weather took a toll on his body to be eventually dismissed by the debutant Khaleel Ahmed.