Cricket's Asia Cup History
The Asia Cup is a continental One Day International cricket tournament initiated to promote goodwill among the Asian countries. The tournament was started in 1983 with the establishment of Asian Cricket Council. It has been ruled by the supreme body of international cricket, International Cricket Council (ICC), that Asia cup will follow a One Day International format.
Originally it was scheduled to be held biennially. The inaugural session of Asia cup was hosted by United Arab Emirates in 1984. Three Asian nations - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka featured in the inaugural Asia Cup. It was a round-robin tournament. The first match of this continental event was played between Pakistan and the new ICC members Sri Lanka in Sharjah CA Stadium, UAE. By winning two out of three matches, India won the inaugural round-robin Asia Cup.
Second edition of Asia Cup was hosted by Sri Lanka in 1986. India did not participate in the tournament due to unpleasant cricketing relations with the hosts after a controversial series with them in the previous year. Bangladesh was included in the continental tournament for the first time. Sri Lanka won the title after beating Pakistan in the final.
Bangladesh was the host of the 1988 Asia Cup. In the final, India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and won its second Asia Cup title.
The fourth Asia Cup was played in Eden Gardens, Calcutta, India in 1990–91. Pakistan - due to overwrought political relations with India - had pulled out of the fourth edition. India defended its title beating Sri Lanka in the final.
In 1995, the fifth edition, took the tournament back to Sharjah CA Stadium, Sharjah after 11 years. After the preliminary round all the three teams, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, had equal points, but India and Sri Lanka got a berth in the final due to better run rate than Green Shirts. India chalked a hat-trick of Asia Cup title by winning for the third successive time.
The sixth Asia Cup took place in Sri Lanka in 1997. Sri Lanka beat India in the final by 8 wickets and halted India's run of three consecutive cup victories. The 1997 Asia Cup was Sri Lanka’s second title.
The seventh edition was hosted by Bangladesh. Sri Lanka and Pakistan made it to the final of the event while India, for the first time, failed to qualify for the final. Pakistan beating Sri Lanka in the final lifted the Cup for the first time.
The eighth edition of continental tournament took place in Sri Lanka, in 2000, after a gap of four years. The format of the tournament was changed this time. For the first time, other Asian teams like Hong Kong and UAE were also included. The tournament was divided into three stages – the initial group stage, the Super Fours and the final. In the group stage teams were divided into two groups, all teams playing round-robin within the group. Top two teams of each group qualified for the knockout Super Four stage where all the four teams played each other once again. The top two teams of the Super Four stage made it to the final.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka topped their relevant groups and as anticipated, Hong Kong and UAE got knocked out in the first stage. Bangladesh for the first time reached the knockout stage in some major tournament. Sri and Lanka India topped the Super Four stage and reached the final. In the final, Sri Lanka overpowered India by 25 runs to win their third Asia Cup.
The ninth edition of the Asia Cup was played in Pakistan. The 2004 format was followed once again. India Sri and Lanka made to the final. Sri Lanka's spinner Ajantha Mendis, grasping figures of 6/13, left the four times Asian champions in tatters. Sri Lanka comfortably defeated India in the final winning the fourth Asia Cup title.
India and Sri Lanka are the most successful teams of Asia Cup. Both teams have lifted the trophy four times. Sri Lanka got a berth in every Asia Cup final since its inception. India stands second in this respect making six out of nine finals.
Highest total so far in Asia Cup tournament is 374/4 by India against Hong Kong in 2008. ST Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka with 1220 runs in 25 matches is the maximum runs scorer of the continental tournament. M Muralitharan, with 28 wickets in 22 matches of Sri Lanka is the most successful bowler of the Asia Cup.
The tenth edition kicked off in Sri Lanka on 15th June 2010. This is the fourth time that the continental tournament is staged in Sri Lanka. Only four Test playing Asian nations are featuring the tenth Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, the defending champion for the last 2 tournaments, has a chance to record a hat-trick of Asia Cup titles.
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