Twitter explodes as India and Pakistan get set for Asia Cup clash
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off in the UAE in the 14th edition of the Asia Cup after being drawn in the same group for the biennial event, the ICC announced on Tuesday.
This will be the first time that Asia's arch-rivals will meet in the Emirates in 12 years, since the two squared off in a 2-match bilateral series in 2006.
Five teams namely Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and defending champions India have earned a direct entry into the group stages where they'll be joined by one of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore and hosts UAE. Group A consists of India, Pakistan and the qualifier while Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
India will face Pakistan on the 19th of September. The top two teams from both groups will qualify for the Super 4 stage where they'll face each other once. The final will be played on the 28th of September, 2018.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held in India but political tensions with Pakistan forced it to be moved to the UAE. The UAE Cricket Board will rent out the stadium with India to serve as the "official hosts".
India won the last Asia Cup, defeating hosts Bangladesh by eight wickets to clinch their sixth title.
Asia Cup 2018 full schedule
Group Stage
15th September - Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (Dubai)
16th September - Pakistan vs Qualifier (Dubai)
17th September - Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka (Abu Dhabi)
18th September - India vs Qualifier (Dubai)
19th September - India vs Pakistan (Dubai)
20th September - Bangladesh vs Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Super Four
21st September - Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
21st September - Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
23rd September - Group A Winner vs Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
23rd September - Group B Winner vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
25th September - Group A Winner vs Group B Winner (Dubai)
26th September - Group A Runner-up vs Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
28th September - Asia Cup 2018 Final (Dubai)
Here's how Twitter reacted to the announcement of the Indo-Pak clash in the 2018 Asia Cup: