Having already sealed their place in the 2018 Asia Cup final, defending champions India will look to continue their winning streak when they face Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The Rohit-Sharma side recently registered a 9-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan to confirm their place in the finals.&nbsp;

On Sunday, Indian openers Rohit Sharma, also the captain, and Shikhar Dhawan slammed a century each&nbsp;to achieve Pakistan's below-par target of 237.

The duo played brilliantly to stitch together a 210-run stand, with Dhawan departing after contributing 114 runs.&nbsp;

India had earlier defeated Bangladesh in their first Super 4 match, to remain as the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far.&nbsp;

India will be aiming to continue their dominance over the Asian newbies, who have managed to give a tough fight in their narrow defeats to the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh in their Super Four clashes.&nbsp;

While Pakistan managed to win a last-over thriller over the Afghans by 3 wickets, Bangladesh on Sunday pipped Afghanistan by 3 runs to set up a virtual semi-final with Pakistan on Wednesday.

The game is also a chance for India to rest a few players and give the opportunity to other young talents.

Having already sealed their place in the 2018 Asia Cup final, defending champions India will look to continue their winning streak when they face Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Having already sealed their place in the 2018 Asia Cup final, defending champions India will look to continue their winning streak when they face Afghanistan on Tuesday. The Rohit-Sharma side recently registered a 9-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan to confirm their place in the finals. On Sunday, Indian openers Rohit Sharma, also the captain, and Shikhar Dhawan slammed a century each to achieve Pakistan's below-par target of 237. The duo played brilliantly to stitch together a 210-run stand, with Dhawan departing after contributing 114 runs. India had earlier defeated Bangladesh in their first Super 4 match, to remain as the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far. India will be aiming to continue their dominance over the Asian newbies, who have managed to give a tough fight in their narrow defeats to the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh in their Super Four clashes. While Pakistan managed to win a last-over thriller over the Afghans by 3 wickets, Bangladesh on Sunday pipped Afghanistan by 3 runs to set up a virtual semi-final with Pakistan on Wednesday. The game is also a chance for India to rest a few players and give the opportunity to other young talents.

Asia Cup: Already in finals, India aim to extend winning streak against Afghanistan

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat against defending champions India in the second-last game of the Super Four stage of the 2018 Asia Cup.

India, who was being led by Rohit Sharma till now, will be playing this game under their former captain MS Dhoni. &nbsp;

Talking after the toss, Dhoni said, "We were looking to bowl first. Quite a few changes. Both the openers are missing, Bhuvi, Bumrah and Chahal are also missing. Everybody who hadn't played in this tournament get a chance," Dhoni said.

"They are part of the 15 and are representing India. We'll have to keep the intensity up. It is important for them to adjust to the line and length they need to bowl. I was not really sure of where I am standing. I have captained 199 ODIs, so this gives me an opportunity to make it 200. It's all destiny and I always believed in that. It's not in my control, once I left captainship. Good to complete 200, but I don't think it really matters, he added."

Talking about their strategy for today, Afghan skipper Asghar Afghan said, "We will bat first. Today, the wicket might spin. We would like to put runs on the board and apply pressure. We have made two changes. Samiullah and Ihsanullah are not playing. Najibullah and Javed Ahmadi come in. We played well, but we lost two games. It's part of the game. Today we will look to play confidently."

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Shahzad(w), Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

India qualified for the Asia Cup final after defeating Pakistan by nine-wickets.&nbsp;

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat against defending champions India in the second-last game of the Super Four stage of the 2018 Asia Cup. India, who was being led by Rohit Sharma till now, will be playing this game under their former captain MS Dhoni.

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat against defending champions India in the second-last game of the Super Four stage of the 2018 Asia Cup. India, who was being led by Rohit Sharma till now, will be playing this game under their former captain MS Dhoni. Talking after the toss, Dhoni said, "We were looking to bowl first. Quite a few changes. Both the openers are missing, Bhuvi, Bumrah and Chahal are also missing. Everybody who hadn't played in this tournament get a chance," Dhoni said. "They are part of the 15 and are representing India. We'll have to keep the intensity up. It is important for them to adjust to the line and length they need to bowl. I was not really sure of where I am standing. I have captained 199 ODIs, so this gives me an opportunity to make it 200. It's all destiny and I always believed in that. It's not in my control, once I left captainship. Good to complete 200, but I don't think it really matters, he added." Talking about their strategy for today, Afghan skipper Asghar Afghan said, "We will bat first. Today, the wicket might spin. We would like to put runs on the board and apply pressure. We have made two changes. Samiullah and Ihsanullah are not playing. Najibullah and Javed Ahmadi come in. We played well, but we lost two games. It's part of the game. Today we will look to play confidently." Teams: India (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed Afghanistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Shahzad(w), Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan(c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman India qualified for the Asia Cup final after defeating Pakistan by nine-wickets.

Asia Cup: Afghanistan win toss, elect to bat against India

Rohit Sharma, who scored his 19th ODI ton and also completed 7000 runs in ODI format, reacted to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/asia-cup-rohit-shikhar-hit-100s-india-beat-pakistan-10-overs-spare-167316">India's nine-wicket win</a> against Pakistan in Super Four, match 3 of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament on Sunday.

Apart from Rohit, opener Shikhar Dhawan also scored a century. In his 114-run knock, which included 16 fours and two sixes, Dhawan played some beautiful shots.

Chasing a target of 238, Rohit (111 no off 119 balls) and Dhawan (114 off 100 balls) flayed the Pakistan attack adding 210 runs for the opening stand.

It was India's biggest win against Pakistan in terms of the number of wickets lost.

India's skipper seemed pleased with team's disciplined performance against Pakistan and said that his side displayed a better show than their arch-rivals.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Total domination as <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamIndia</a> seal a win by 9 wickets <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvPAK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AsiaCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AsiaCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/k6vSgrkaB8">pic.twitter.com/k6vSgrkaB8</a>
— BCCI (@BCCI) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCCI/status/1043933103226540032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

He gave specific mention to the bowling unit as they stuck to their task got crucial breakthroughs and kept taking wickets to rip through Pakistan's batting unit.

"We asked for something like this from the boys," said Sharma. "It was challenging conditions, and it was tough coming out and playing in these conditions. All of them showed great character, it's a good win."

Rohit Sharma, who scored his 19th ODI ton and also completed 7000 runs in ODI format, reacted to India's nine-wicket win against Pakistan in Super Four, match 3 of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament on Sunday.

Rohit Sharma, who scored his 19th ODI ton and also completed 7000 runs in ODI format, reacted to India's nine-wicket win against Pakistan in Super Four, match 3 of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament on Sunday. Apart from Rohit, opener Shikhar Dhawan also scored a century. In his 114-run knock, which included 16 fours and two sixes, Dhawan played some beautiful shots. Chasing a target of 238, Rohit (111 no off 119 balls) and Dhawan (114 off 100 balls) flayed the Pakistan attack adding 210 runs for the opening stand. It was India's biggest win against Pakistan in terms of the number of wickets lost. India's skipper seemed pleased with team's disciplined performance against Pakistan and said that his side displayed a better show than their arch-rivals. Total domination as #TeamIndia seal a win by 9 wickets #INDvPAK #AsiaCup pic.twitter.com/k6vSgrkaB8 — BCCI (@BCCI) September 23, 2018 × He gave specific mention to the bowling unit as they stuck to their task got crucial breakthroughs and kept taking wickets to rip through Pakistan's batting unit. "We asked for something like this from the boys," said Sharma. "It was challenging conditions, and it was tough coming out and playing in these conditions. All of them showed great character, it's a good win."

Team showed great character, it's a good win, says Rohit Sharma after India's win over Pak

The Government of Pakistan on Friday reacted to India's move to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of both the countries. Pakistan government stated that India's reason to cancel the meeting was 'unconvincing'.

India on Friday called off the meeting between Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that was supposed to take place in New York, United States later this month on the sidelines of annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.&nbsp;

The move came after the bodies of three Jammu and Kashmir cops were found in the region on Friday. The soldiers were allegedly abducted and killed by a Pakistan-backed terrorist organisation. India also stated that the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/true-face-imran-khan-revealed-says-mea-after-calling-talks-pak-167000">true face of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been revealed</a> in the wake of the brutal killings.&nbsp;

''Since yesterday's announcement of the meeting of foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, two deeply disturbing developments took place. Latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan entities and the recent release of series of 20 postal stamps by Pakistan glorifying terrorists,'' Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Friday.

Pakistan government rejected India's claim stating that India had announced the bilateral talks much ahead of the "disturbing developments." It described India's comments on Pak PM Imran Khan, "against all norms of civilised discourse and diplomatic communication."

"The reasons cited by the Indian side for the decision to cancel the Foreign Ministers' meeting, within 24 hours of its public confirmation, are entirely unconvincing," read an official statement.

"Firstly, the alleged killing of BSF soldier took place two days prior to the Indian announcement of its agreement to hold the bilateral meeting," the statement read.

"When the allegations of Pakistan's involvement first appeared, the Pakistan Rangers clearly conveyed to BSF through official channels that Pakistan had nothing to do with it. Pakistan Rangers also extended help in efforts to locate the soldier's body. These facts were known to the Indian authorities and a part of the Indian media also reported that Pakistan had refuted its involvement. Yet, this motivated and malicious propaganda continued. Pakistan takes this opportunity to categorically reject these allegations once again. Our authorities would be prepared to conduct a joint investigation to establish the truth," it said.

Reiterating the significance of dialogue, the Pak government stated that it "has always desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. In our view, dialogue and diplomacy are the only constructive way forward for the two countries to address mutual concerns, rebuild trust, resolve longstanding disputes, and establish durable peace in South Asia. For its part, Pakistan will persist in its quest for peace and development. But, as we have consistently emphasised, our approach will continue to be guided by the aforementioned principles and the dictates of national dignity."

Friday's incident angered India after which the government decided to call off the upcoming meeting with Pakistan.

In a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought a meeting between foreign ministers Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UNGA.&nbsp;

The Indian government had said that the two leaders will meet at a mutually convenient date and time. But, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar made it clear that "the coming meeting was not a resumption of the dialogue process".

(With inputs from ANI)&nbsp;

The Government of Pakistan on Friday reacted to India's move to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of both the countries. Pakistan government stated that India's reason to cancel the meeting was 'unconvincing'.

The Government of Pakistan on Friday reacted to India's move to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of both the countries. Pakistan government stated that India's reason to cancel the meeting was 'unconvincing'. India on Friday called off the meeting between Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi that was supposed to take place in New York, United States later this month on the sidelines of annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session. The move came after the bodies of three Jammu and Kashmir cops were found in the region on Friday. The soldiers were allegedly abducted and killed by a Pakistan-backed terrorist organisation. India also stated that the true face of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been revealed in the wake of the brutal killings. ''Since yesterday's announcement of the meeting of foreign ministers of India and Pakistan, two deeply disturbing developments took place. Latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan entities and the recent release of series of 20 postal stamps by Pakistan glorifying terrorists,'' Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Friday. Pakistan government rejected India's claim stating that India had announced the bilateral talks much ahead of the "disturbing developments." It described India's comments on Pak PM Imran Khan, "against all norms of civilised discourse and diplomatic communication." "The reasons cited by the Indian side for the decision to cancel the Foreign Ministers' meeting, within 24 hours of its public confirmation, are entirely unconvincing," read an official statement. "Firstly, the alleged killing of BSF soldier took place two days prior to the Indian announcement of its agreement to hold the bilateral meeting," the statement read. "When the allegations of Pakistan's involvement first appeared, the Pakistan Rangers clearly conveyed to BSF through official channels that Pakistan had nothing to do with it. Pakistan Rangers also extended help in efforts to locate the soldier's body. These facts were known to the Indian authorities and a part of the Indian media also reported that Pakistan had refuted its involvement. Yet, this motivated and malicious propaganda continued. Pakistan takes this opportunity to categorically reject these allegations once again. Our authorities would be prepared to conduct a joint investigation to establish the truth," it said. Reiterating the significance of dialogue, the Pak government stated that it "has always desired peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India, on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and mutual benefit. In our view, dialogue and diplomacy are the only constructive way forward for the two countries to address mutual concerns, rebuild trust, resolve longstanding disputes, and establish durable peace in South Asia. For its part, Pakistan will persist in its quest for peace and development. But, as we have consistently emphasised, our approach will continue to be guided by the aforementioned principles and the dictates of national dignity." Friday's incident angered India after which the government decided to call off the upcoming meeting with Pakistan. In a letter to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought a meeting between foreign ministers Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UNGA. The Indian government had said that the two leaders will meet at a mutually convenient date and time. But, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar made it clear that "the coming meeting was not a resumption of the dialogue process". (With inputs from ANI)

Pakistan calls India's reasons to cancel foreign ministers' meeting 'unconvincing'

Pakistan's peace overture was negated by India in a "usual belligerent manner", said Pakistan President Arif Alvi expressing disappointment over India's decision to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of two countries.

Alvi tweeted, "Sad to see India backing off from FM level talks. Mutual reservations could have been placed on the table. Kashmiris face only disappointment on #InternationalDayOfPeace PM @ImranKhanPTI's outstanding peace overture negated in their usual belligerent manner"

The now-cancelled meet was scheduled to take place between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Sad to see India backing off from FM level talks. Mutual reservations could have been placed on the table. Kashmiris face only disappointment on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InternationalDayOfPeace?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InternationalDayOfPeace</a> PM <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ImranKhanPTI</a>'s outstanding peace overture negated in their usual belligerant manner
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArifAlvi/status/1043150379930845184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The decision of calling off the meeting came hours after security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir were kidnapped and brutally killed on Friday.

Terror attacks against policemen in the state have been rampant in recent times.

On August 29, four policemen were killed when they were indiscriminately fired upon by a group of terrorists in Shopian's Arhama.

On August 22, three policemen were gunned down in three separate attacks by terrorists. Two of the attacks took place in Pulwama district, with one policeman killed in Kulgam.

Pakistan's peace overture was negated by India in a "usual belligerent manner", said Pakistan President Arif Alvi expressing disappointment over India's decision to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of two countries.

Pakistan's peace overture was negated by India in a "usual belligerent manner", said Pakistan President Arif Alvi expressing disappointment over India's decision to call off the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of two countries. Alvi tweeted, "Sad to see India backing off from FM level talks. Mutual reservations could have been placed on the table. Kashmiris face only disappointment on #InternationalDayOfPeace PM @ImranKhanPTI's outstanding peace overture negated in their usual belligerent manner" The now-cancelled meet was scheduled to take place between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of upcoming United Nations General Assembly in New York. Sad to see India backing off from FM level talks. Mutual reservations could have been placed on the table. Kashmiris face only disappointment on #InternationalDayOfPeace PM @ImranKhanPTI's outstanding peace overture negated in their usual belligerant manner — Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) September 21, 2018 × The decision of calling off the meeting came hours after security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir were kidnapped and brutally killed on Friday. Terror attacks against policemen in the state have been rampant in recent times. On August 29, four policemen were killed when they were indiscriminately fired upon by a group of terrorists in Shopian's Arhama. On August 22, three policemen were gunned down in three separate attacks by terrorists. Two of the attacks took place in Pulwama district, with one policeman killed in Kulgam.

Pak's peace overture negated by India in 'usual belligerent manner': Pak President Arif Alvi 

india-0

India, News on India, stories on India, articles on India, India stories at Wion, India news, India latest news

india 0

Asia Cup: Already in finals, India aim to extend winning streak against Afghanistan

Asia Cup: Afghanistan win toss, elect to bat against India

Team showed great character, it's a good win, says Rohit Sharma after India's win over Pak

Pakistan calls India's reasons to cancel foreign ministers' meeting 'unconvincing'

Pak's peace overture negated by India in 'usual belligerent manner': Pak President Arif Alvi