COLOMBO, July 26: Sri Lanka, already assured of a place in the Asia Cup final, face India on Tuesday to decide who the hosts play for the championship on Sunday.
Pakistan revived their slender hope of retaining the title with a convincing 59-run victory
, but conceded the vital bonus point to India the other night.
A simple win - without even the bonus point - in this important Super League match would be sufficient for Saurav Ganguly's side to confirm a third meeting with the Sri Lankans in the current tournament at the weekend.
On the other hand, if Sri Lanka overcome the Indians on Tuesday, then Pakistan will be in the final if they beat Bangladesh on Thursday. On the evidence of India's performance so far and given Sri Lanka's current form, it's going to be a mighty task for the Indians to seek a reversal of the result in the preliminary round.
Sri Lanka, the only side with an unblemished record in the tournament, have a psychological hold over the Indians following their 12-run victory at Dambulla nine days ago.
Against Pakistan on Sunday, the Indians appeared a disjointed lot. They bowled without purpose, were shoddy in the field and batted as if going through the motion.
The body language of the players suggested that all was not well within the team. Rumours are rife here that a clash of interest over mode of payments offered by the BCCI has divided the players and was playing on the minds of the younger team members.
If these rumours are true and India perform as badly against Sri Lanka as they did against Pakistan then Inzamamul Haq's men have a great opportunity of making it to the final and retaining the trophy they won at Dhaka in 2000 by beating Sri Lanka.
The Pakistanis, rather unfairly, have been protesting the introduction of the bonus point system - a rule they were fully aware of before the tournament started. If they had any reservations then they should have at least made their viewpoint known at the time.
The bonus point rule is applicable to all teams so there is no reason for crying foul. Coming to Tuesday's match, the toss would once again play a vital role since batting under lights at the R. Premadasa Stadium has been a definite handicap.
The wicket favours imposing total for the side batting first unless it gets bowled out for a low score as Pakistan capitulated against Sri Lanka last week.
