Asia Cup 2018 fixtures revealed; India, Pakistan in the same group

India will take on the winner of the qualifying team in their first match of Asia Cup 2018 on September 18, before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan the very next day. Virat Kohli and co. are currently the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2016. Though, that year, T20I was the format of Asia Cup.

The five confirmed teams in the tournament are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The sixth team will be decided through a qualification round, which will be held in India.

Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Singapore and UAE will contest for the final spot. The winner of this will gain entry into the Asia Cup 2018. The first group has Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in it. In the other group, India and Pakistan will be joined by one of the six teams. 

This year's edition will witness 50-over matches and will be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament will kick off with Bangladesh taking on Sri Lanka. Defending champions India will take on the winner of the qualifiers, before the much-awaited fixture against Pakistan.

It comes as a huge surprise and talking point that India will play two matches in consecutive days. What's more confusing is that while Pakistan get a two-day break before their match against India, Virat Kohli and co. will not be even afforded 24 hours rest.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 4, whereas the bottom team will be knocked out. In the next round, all the teams will take on each other, and just like group stages, the top two will qualify.

The final will be played in Dubai on September 28.

India and Pakistan met each other in the Asia Cup 2016 as well, with Kohli's men coming on top. The last meeting between the two teams was in ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

In that tournament, the arch rivals met each other twice. In the group stage, India ran over Pakistan, winning the group stage match by 124 runs. Though, Sarfraz Ahmed and co. bounced back in sensational fashion, and defeated India in the final to win the tournament.

READ:India Vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2018: Live Cricket Score, Match Updates & Results