Lawson confident of doing a 'Dhaka' in Asia Cup

Lahore, Jun 22 (UNI) On a high after the morale boosting win over arch-rivals India in the tri-series final at Dhaka, Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is confident of bagging the Asia Cup which gets underway on June 24.

''Our prospects are very good in the tournament. India and Sri Lanka are good teams and a real challenge. We've just played India and we know that we can beat them,'' Lawson said.

''We haven't played Sri Lanka for a while, but they're always a good side... but I think if we play the best cricket then we've very good chances of winning the Asia Cup,'' he added.

Lawson further pointed out that the two teams which can pose a threat to their Asia Cup campaign are India and Sri Lanka but made it clear that his wards would not find it difficult to beat India again.

''The two main rivals for us (in the Asia Cup) are India and Sri Lanka,'' said Lawson. ''We've beaten India recently and we can beat them again here.'' The hosts are set to clash in a mouth-watering game against MS Dhoni's men on June 26. The match is already billed as a dress rehearsal for the Asia Cup final to be played here on July 6.

But Lawson did not rule out Sri Lanka whom he touted as a dangerous side.

The coach hoped that fast bowler Mohammad Asif will make an early return to international cricket after going through an 19-day ordeal in Dubai where he was detained over possession of a banned substance this month.

But Lawson said, ''it is up to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to decide as to when Asif will become eligible to play for the national team again. The disgraced fast bowler is facing a PCB inquiry following the drug-related episode in Dubai.

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