Amidst the fanfare, hype and drone from vuvuzelas emanating from South Africa now, a smaller tournament was quietly taking place in Sri Lanka. I say "quietly", because despite the baila rhythms and cheers from respectable crowds, you wouldn't have known that cricket's only regional international tournament crowned a new champion. While the eyes of the world were fixed on the action in South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh tussled for the 2010 Asia Cup. India won what turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided final, while Sri Lanka had to settle with three wins out of four games. Pakistan's games against India and Sri Lanka gave us some of the most exciting cricket we've seen in a while, and Bangladesh didn't fail to disappoint - again.
Pakistan - the cornered tigers had to leave the Asia Cup with only having beaten Bangladesh, but nail-biting encounters against the home team and eventual champions India acquitted them well. Shahid Afridi lead a team in turmoil, after much-publicized administrative & political interference and vitriolic in-fighting. And to his credit, he led from the front, his century against Sri Lanka almost winning the game for Pakistan. Shoaib Akhtar returned to action after years of injury and controversy, and while not at his faster-than-light best, bowled well and hinted that if he continues to cope with age and maturity, he can still be a force to be reckoned with. Despite only one win out of three games, Pakistan can head to their series against England and Australia on a cautious high, knowing that, yet again, they stood tall in the face of adversity.
Bangladesh - after they turned out decent (albeit losing) performances in the Test series in England, we hoped that Bangladesh would be good for more than just the token upset. As it turned out, we didn't even get that. They failed to cross 200 in either their Sri Lanka or India game, and when confronted with chasing 386 against Pakistan, closed shop and played for a draw. Tamim Iqbal impressed, as he usually does, but none of the other 10 players turned up. While their innings against Pakistan will be debated (slow deaths do the suffering ODI format no favors, but at least their batsmen got some practice, right?), their abject failures against Sri Lanka and India will cause headaches for administrators, from Dhaka to London. For every step forward, Bangladesh take three steps back.