Top 5 stars of Asia Cup

On Sunday (September 28), the curtain fell on the 17th edition of the Asia Cup with the final between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Team India returned home with the title after being undefeated since the beginning of the tournament.

India scored a hat-trick of victories by defeating Pakistan three times in the group stage, Super Four and yesterday in the final.

Yesterday, India defeated Pakistan by 5 wickets to win the Asia Cup for the record 9th time. Pakistan played in the final for the sixth time in the tournament and lost for the fourth time.

Several star batsmen showed their strength in the just-concluded edition of the Asia Cup. Among them is the young Indian opener Abhishek Sharma. He has played consistently throughout the tournament and scored the highest number of runs.

Two of the top five in the list of top run-scorers are from India. In addition to three consecutive fifties in the Super Four, Abhishek was also consistent in the group stage matches. He scored 314 runs with 32 fours and 19 sixes at a strike rate of 200. This young player was named the best player in the tournament.

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nishanka came closest to Abhishek. As Sri Lanka did not make it to the final, the Sri Lankan opener did not get a chance to surpass Abhishek. Nishanka scored 261 runs at a strike rate of 160.12 in the 6 matches played until the Super Four. The only century of the tournament came from his bat. He also scored 2 fifties.

The third highest run scorer in the tournament is Pakistan's Shahibzada Farhan. This batter set the stage for Pakistan to bring a big total in the final match. He played an innings of 58 runs in just 37 balls. He also scored a fifty against India in the previous Super Four match. In total, the Pakistani opener scored 217 runs in 7 innings, at a strike rate of 116.04.

After Farhan, India's Tilak Verma is next. He won the Man of the Final award for playing an innings of 69 runs in 53 balls in the title-deciding match. This batsman scored 213 runs at an average of 71 in the tournament. The last name in the top five is Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman. This batsman scored 181 runs in 7 matches.

Top five star batsmen in the Asia Cup at a glance-

Abhishek Sharma - 314 runs (7 innings)

Pathum Nissanka - 261 runs (6 innings)

Sahibzada Farhan - 217 runs (7 innings)

Tilak Verma - 213 runs (6 innings)

Fakhar Zaman - 181 runs (7 innings).