Put simply, Asia Cup is international cricket’s biggest multi-team tournament outside of ICC-organised events. And is the only continental cricket tournament in the world. Long before they became a global superpower, the Indian team had already started bossing over the event which clearly reflects in the fact that of the 14 finals in the tournament’s history, they have appeared in 10 (India have participated in 13 editions though, skipping once).
Out of the 14 editions, India have won seven. Five have been pocketed by Sri Lanka. And the remaining two have gone Pakistan’s way. From being a three-team affair where India became the inaugural champions after securing just two victories, Asia Cup has expanded to become a six-team event today.
The Glorious 38 Years of Asia Cup: A Look Back at Title Winners from 1984 to 2018
Since 2008, it’s been held every alternate year and from 2016 onwards, it alternates between ODIs and T20Is to suit which big-ticket event is ahead. For example this year, it’s being held in T20 format to help the teams prepare for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. Next year, it will be held one-day format in the lead up to the ODI World Cup in India.
Let’s take a look at India’s history at the event. For those interested in digging deeper, head to our story on the winners list.
The Initial Years And The Early Boycott(s)
The tournament was first held in 1984. Guess where? UAE. No wonder it’s sometimes referred as the spiritual home of Asia Cup. India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated at the event. A year after becoming the world champions, India asserted their continental dominance by beating Sri Lanka and Pakistan to become the Asian champions as well.
Start of something special? Hang on.
The Boycott
The next edition of the tournament – 1986 – was held in Sri Lanka. But the diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka weren’t peachy. So India opted against taking part and were replaced by Bangladesh – then an associate member.
Hosting rights for the third edition – 1988- went to Bangladesh. India were back and the team count increased to four. A round-robin format was adapted and India thrashed Bangladesh, lost to Sri Lanka (table toppers) and edged past Pakistan by four wickets to finish second. The top-two progressed to the summit clash. And in the final, the Dilip Vengsarkar-led side had its revenge after they bowled out the defending champions for 174 and chased down the target in 37.1 overs for their second title.
The Boycott 2
India, the defending champions, hosted the event for the first time – 1990-91. Unfortunately, back then, the diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan were strained resulted in the latter pulling out of the tournament.
No replacement was announced with the event reduced to three-team event, again. Each team played the other once. And the top-two contested for the title.
India beat Bangladesh but lost to Sri Lanka who topped the table. Like in 1988, this time too India exacted revenge in the title clash to become the champions for the third time.
Normalcy Restored And a Hat-trick
UAE came calling in 1995. And the tournament returned to the gulf federation for the first time since 1984. Four teams took part – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Two-time defending champions, India, had a mixed start to their campaign. The stormed to a nine-wicket win after skittling Bangladesh for 163. And then were blown apart by Pakistan in the second game when they were bowled out for 169 in chase of 267. The Mohammad Azharuddin-led side though sealed a third straight final by beating Sri Lanka in their last round-robin match whom they beat again at Sharjah to complete a hat-trick of title wins.
The Drought
Starting 1997 and till 2008, India didn’t win the title again. Their tally stood on four even though they made three finals out of four times only to finish as the runners-up. All three times they lost to Sri Lanka – who exacted sort of a revenge of their own. And included a painful surrender to the guile of Ajantha Mendis in Karachi where the mystery spinner took six wickets to power Sri Lanka to a 100-run win in the title clash.
Also Read: ‘You Take Pandya Out of India Squad And The Balance Goes Away’
The Elusive 5th in 2010
A memorable tournament for India. And not just because they became the champions after a gap of 10 years. En route to the title, they defeated Pakistan in a last-over finish when Harbhajan Singh struck a six off Mohammed Amir when India needed four runs off the final two deliveries. In their final round-robin match though the MS Dhoni-led side lost to Sri Lanka but after a gap of a day, met them again in the summit clash to win by 81 run.
Tendulkar’s 100th 100 And Kohli’s Career-best Show
Bangladesh hosted Asia Cup in 2012 and 2014. India returned home empty-handed both the times. However, the 2012 edition is remembered for Sachin Tendulkar ending his long wait for a 100th century in international cricket – creating history during a round-robin match against Bangladesh.
And then there was a terrific win against Pakistan when Virat Kohli blasted 183 off 148 in a successful chase of 330.
In 2014, India beat Bangladesh and Afghanistan but lost to Sri Lanka and Pakistan to finish third on the points table and didn’t make it to the summit clash. The loss to Pakistan rankles as Indian bowlers made a spirited defense of 245 pushing the contest into the final over. With 10 needed off the last six, Ravichandran Ashwin took a wicket and conceded a single off his first two. And then Shahid Afridi broke Indian hears with back-to-back sixes.
Change in Format
Asia Cup, for the first time, was held in T20 format in 2016. India eased to an eight-wicket win in the final over Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed affair. It’s remembered for the epic battle between Kohli and Amir after India skittled Pakistan for 83. On a difficult surface, Amir’s spell gave Pakistan a big hope with India reduced to 8/3. However, Kohli played one of his finest knocks – a 51-ball 49 – to star in a memorable five-wicket win.
Back to UAE in 2018
With Kohli rested after a punishing England tour, Rohit Sharma led the side. It was an eerie start to India’s campaign. In their first match, Hong Kong, a team that had lost its ODI status, came agonisingly close to upsetting India. They were chasing 286, Nizakat Khan and Anshuman Rath gave India a big wake up call by adding a record 174 runs for the first wicket. India would eventually keep Hong Kong to 259/8 for a 26-run win.
In their second match, against Pakistan, India lost Hardik Pandya to injury but kept their opponent to 162-all out. Rohit made a fifty in an eight-wicket win. The top-six teams entered the Super-8 stage where India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan before surviving another scare. They somehow managed to keep Afghanistan to 252/8 after being bowled out for 252 themselves forcing a tie.
In the final, they faced Bangladesh who were bowled out for 222. Credit to Bangladesh bowlers as they forced the match into the final over. And India won off the final delivery thanks to a leg bye to become the champions a record-extending seventh time.
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