Indian team celebrates with the Asia Cup trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)
India are the most successful side in the history of the Asia Cup. They won the first-ever edition of the competition in 1984 as well the first T20I edition played in 2016. As of now, no team has managed to win the Asia Cup more times than India.
India have won the tournament seven times so far – six ODI titles and one T20I title. Sri Lanka are second in the list with six titles followed by Pakistan who have won the tournament twice. Having dominated the tournament more than any other team, India also hold several records in the Asia Cup.
The Men in Blue will have a chance to extend their domination further in the tournament when Asia Cup 2023 gets underway. So as the Rohit Sharma-led side get ready for the upcoming competition, here is a look at five major records held by India in the Asia Cup.
5. Most individual centuries in Asia Cup (ODI)
Along with Pakistan, India currently hold the record for most individual centuries in the Asia Cup. Both the teams have registered 16 individual centuries in the tournament. For India, the first player to score a century in the Asia Cup was Navjot Singh Sidhu who scored 104 not out against Bangladesh in 1990.
So far, 11 players from India have scored century in the Asia Cup. Virat Kohli holds the record for scoring most number of centuries as an Indian player with three centuries in the continental championship.
Apart from him, Shikhar Dhawan (2), Suresh Raina (2) and Sachin Tendulkar (2) have also scored multiple Asia Cup centuries. The other Indian players to score a century in the competition are Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Sidhu, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
4. Highest team total in Asia Cup (T20I)
Another major Asia Cup record held by India is that of the highest team total in the T20I format. The Men in Blue scored 212/2 against Afghanistan in the last edition of the tournament.
India were already out of the race for a spot in the final after losing against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Super 4 clashes. With only pride at stake against Afghanistan, India came up with a clinical performance as Virat Kohli led the charge with the bat, scoring his first T20I century to help the team finish with a huge total. It was his first century in international cricket in 1,021 days.
In reply, Afghanistan finished their innings on 111 for eight to suffer a heavy 101-run loss. Bhuvneshwar Kumar starred with the ball for India. The right-arm pacer finished the game with impressive figures of five wickets for just four runs.
3. Highest successful run-chase in Asia Cup (ODI)
India hold the record for the highest successful chase in the ODI format of the tournament. The win came against arch rivals Pakistan in Mirpur in 2012 and the architect was a young Virat Kohli, regarded as one of the best chasers in the history of ODI cricket.
Pakistan put themselves in the driver’s seat with a stunning batting display as openers Mohammad Hafeez (105) and Nasir Jamshed (112) scored centuries while sharing a huge 224-run stand. A quickfire fifty from Younis Khan then helped Pakistan finish the innings with a big total of 329/6.
In reply, India chased down the total with 13 balls remaining. Kohli starred with the bat, scoring 183. After India lost Gautam Gambhir for a duck, Kohli shared century-plus stands with Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma to lay the foundation for the famous win.
2. Most wins in Asia Cup (T20I)
India are the most successful team in the T20I format of the tournament too. They won the inaugural T20I edition in 2016 and hold the record for most wins in the T20I format of the Asia Cup. The Men in Blue have played 10 T20I games in the competition so far and have won eight of them.
In the first edition in 2016, India won all of their five games under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. They beat Bangladesh twice, including the final, as well as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates. In 2022, India won three of the five games.
The Rohit Sharma-led side won both of their group games against Pakistan and Hong Kong. In the Super 4, Pakistan handed India their first-ever defeat in the T20I format of the Asia Cup. It was followed by another loss against eventual winners Sri Lanka before India bowed out of the competition with a big win over Afghanistan.
1. Most titles in Asia Cup
India also hold the recored for most titles in the ODI format of the Asia Cup. No team has managed to win the Asia Cup in the 50-over format as well as the T20I format on more occasions than India. In the ODIs, India have won the Asia Cup six teams. Sri Lanka are second in the list with five wins to their name.
India clinched the Asia Cup for the first time in 1984 which was the inaugural edition. Sri Lanka won the second edition in 1986 before India clinched the next three editions played in 1988, 1990 and 1995. The Men in Blue won their fifth Asia Cup title in 2010 by beating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.
In 2018, India won the tournament for a record sixth time under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Prior to that, India had also won the Asia Cup in 2016 which was played in the T20I format. Overall, India have won the tournament seven times (six ODI titles and one T20I title).