Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has all the rights to perform the tournaments. ACC is an organisation that looks after the management and smooth conduct of tournaments under their governance. It was founded and established in 1983. It is played in both one day and T20 formats played in every alternative two years.
The first edition was played in 1984 in UAE. The latest edition was played in 2018 and the next edition will be played in 2022 and hosted by Sri Lanka. All the matches between the teams are conducted in a round-robin format. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Afghanistan are the teams taking part under Asian Cricket Council.
The very first tournament of the Asia Cup was played in 1984 in Sharjah, UAE. The ICC also announced that all the tournaments played in Asia Cup have the official One-Day International status. Here is the complete list of:
Top 10 Moments in Asia Cup
1. India Vs Sri Lanka
The match was between India and Sri Lanka in the 2004 edition of the Asia Cup. Initially, team India was on the tough side after losing to Pakistan in the group matches. But won other matches against Bangladesh and kept their hope alive. India lost to Sri Lanka as well by 12 runs where Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly partnered 134 runs after that, Yuvraj Singh got in terrific form.
He scored a quick 50 in just 46 balls and totally came to 271 runs. Sri Lanka came out to chase, and the bowlers did a very good job of defending the total and finally, India won the match.
2. Final Between Pakistan & Bangladesh
The match was played between Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 2012 series of Asia Cup. Bangladesh, being the host, has managed to dominate the other teams. It was also very special, that some other team appeared in the final of the Asia Cup because every time it was India, Sri Lanka or Pakistan. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Bangladesh bowlers played really well and restricted Pakistan to 236 runs. On the other side, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan were in good form, but unfortunately, the wicket fell down and Bangladesh started losing their hopes and Pakistan made a 2 run win. It was a historic win for Pakistan.
3. Virat At Its Best
The match was between India and Pakistan. Both the teams were in good form and looking for a win. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. The openers played really well Md Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed knocked 224 runs partnership. Then Younis Khan scored 52 runs and took the total to 329 runs. The target was huge. The opener Gautam Gambhir got out at duck and then Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli build a partnership of 133 runs.
Then Rohit Sharma came out in the middle with Virat Kohli. Virat was playing very brilliantly. Virat scored a total of 183 runs in just 148 balls. At last 12 runs were needed and Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni took the team towards victory.
4. Sachin’s 100th
Sachin Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer. He is considered a great run machine. He was failed to get his remarkable century in the past year. There was a match between India and Bangladesh. And in this match, Sachin was in full confidence to get his century into this match. He scored fifty in 63 balls and kept going at a slow pace. On the other side, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina were playing very well.
Sachin was getting full support from the other end and finally Sachin reached his Century in 147 ball 114. It was the slowest century ever scored by an Indian. It was a historic moment for Sachin Tendulkar.
5. Afridi Vs Ashwin
The match was played between India and Pakistan in the 2014 edition of Asia Cup. India lost the toss and got to bat first. Opener Rohit Sharma was in intense form and scored 50 in just 44 deliveries. On the other hand, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan lost their wickets very early. After that, Ambati Rayudu knocked 58 runs and ended up with a total of 245 runs.
Pakistan came out to chase and opener Md Hafeez scored 75 in 130 balls. In the last over, there were Ashwin and Afridi one on one. In the last, over 10 runs were needed and in the 3rd ball, Afridi hit the ball too long on and made a huge victory.
6. Afghanistan Came into Action
In the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup, Afghanistan participated for the first time and made their remarkable presence. Afghanistan has a brilliant bowling attack with Rashid Khan, Mujeeb and Md Nabi. And batsmen are also very good, scoring 250 plus runs.
Being in a group B with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the best of four-match, they defeated Pakistan, Bangladesh and even India. They really proved themselves and made a historic win over other teams.
7. Sri Lanka’s Exit
Sri Lanka is amongst the best team, but it was facing a tough time. The team was not able to perform well and lost all their matches. Sri Lanka team is a five times Asia Cup Champions, but this time it all went just opposite and went out of the tournament. In the match against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka lost to 137 runs and Afghanistan, lost with 91 runs.
The Sri Lankan batsmen were not able to score more than 200 runs. Only Malinga was the bowler who gave his best and no other bowler supported him. The Sri Lankan team must be totally disappointed with their performance and we’re hoping the best for future matches.
8. Tamim Iqbal Fracture
In the 2018 edition of Asia cup tournament. Bangladesh was batting first against Sri Lanka. In the 2nd over, Tamim Iqbal got a pull on his wrist while playing and was sent back immediately after the injury. After that, the news was out that Tamim got a wrist fracture and couldn’t play in the upcoming matches.
Rahim and Mithun tackled the innings well, but at last, it was 229/9 and Rahim was at the crease and Tamim Iqbal came with his fractured wrist. Rahim took the charge and made a 10th wicket partnership and scored 261 runs. At last, Bangladesh wins the game and special regards to Tamim, who showed good team leadership.
9. Hong Kong Scares
Initially, Hong Kong team was in immense form and the very first match was played between India and Hong Kong. India batted first, and the batsmen started really well and reached the total 285 runs. Hong Kong came out to chase and the openers, Anshuman Rath and Nizakat Khan were in terrific form and had put India into huge trouble.
As the opening partnership reached 174 runs. And when the Indian bowlers gained the form and dismissed the opener, after that the wicket started falling quickly and India won it at last.
10. The Return of MS Dhoni
In the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup tournament, MS Dhoni became the third player as a captain in 200ODI matches, after Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming. It was a remarkable return for the fans. He last captained the team in the 2016.
