Asia Cup 2022: 3 milestones that can be broken during the upcoming tournament
In just less than a couple of weeks, the Asia Cup is set to return with the continent's top teams facing off against each other. Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will square off in the opening game of the tournament on August 27.
India, on the other hand, will begin their Asia Cup title defense against arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 in Dubai. Defending champions India have won the coveted title the most number of times (seven).
This year's Asia Cup will be a T20I event since it will provide the six participating Asian teams a significant opportunity to warm up before the ICC T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Australia later this year.
Since the inception of the Asia Cup, several records have been established and broken over the years in both 50-over and 20-over formats. However, some Asia Cup records are on the verge of getting shattered during the upcoming edition.
On that note, let's take a look at the top three milestones that could be broken during the upcoming Asia Cup 2022.
#1 Rohit Sharma can become the first Indian to complete 1,000 runs in Asia Cup
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will head into the tournament as the country's second-highest run-getter in Asia Cup history. The opener has amassed 883 runs in 27 Asia Cup matches at an average of 42.04 and a strike rate of 90.
Sachin Tendulkar is currently India's highest run-getter with 971 runs. While Rohit is just 88 runs away from Tendulkar's record, the Mumbai lad can easily get past the 1000-run mark in the upcoming competition.
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Rohit requires 117 more runs to enter the elite list of players who have scored 1,000 runs in the continental competition. Only two players, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, have scored more than a thousand runs in the tournament, and Rohit can join the two Sri Lankan legends.
#2 Most runs in a single T20 edition of the Asia Cup
With this year's Asia Cup to be played in the T20 format, the record of scoring the most runs in a T20 edition is very much in danger.
Hong Kong's top-order batter Babar Hayat currently holds the record for scoring the most runs in a single T20 edition of the Asia Cup. He mustered 194 runs in just three matches at the 2016 Asia Cup.
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Nonetheless, with several world-class batters in action, Hayat's record can be easily surpassed this time. Players including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, and Muhammad Rizwan appear to be strong candidates to break Babar Hayat's record and finish the 2022 Asia Cup with the most runs scored.
#3 Highest team total in a T20 edition of Asia Cup
The upcoming Asia Cup is expected to be a thrilling tournament and teams will aim to mount massive runs in order to stamp their authority against their opponents. Due to this, the highest team total in a T20 edition of the tournament can be broken.
Oman currently hold the record for the highest total in the Asia Cup T20. They put up a total of 180/5 against Hong Kong, while chasing a target of 176 in the qualifier round of the 2016 edition.
Suryakumar Yadav ✅
Rohit Sharma ✅
Hardik Pandya ✅
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Teams like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have the capability to shatter the record for the highest total in the upcoming event.