5. A war of words breaks out between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh
Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Incidents are always anticipated when India and Pakistan square off on the field. The crowd is never let down either because the entertainment is always rounded up with verbal volleys and fireworks from the bat. During the 2010 Asia Cup encounter at Dambulla, intense situations were momentarily created on the field.
Thanks to half-centuries from Gambhir and Dhoni, India overtook Pakistan’s 267 total. Initially, Pakistan had written 267 on the scoreboard. India won the match with one ball left after an exciting finish.
4. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by two runs.
Pakistan vs Bangladesh. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Bangladesh shocked everyone by making it all the way to the competition’s finals in 2012. The incredible bowling of Bangladeshi spinners Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, and Razzak caused Pakistan to score only 236 runs.
None of the Pakistani batters, with the exception of Sarfraz Ahmed and Hafeez, knew which side the ball was turning and could not survive the bowling barrage from Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal made an excellent start in the run chase, while Shakib later joined Tamim to reinforce the pursuit. Umar Gul, though, introduced a significant twist when he fired Tamim Iqbal.
Bangladesh had a strong advantage in the game with 4 wickets in hand and only 23 runs needed from 18 balls. Unfortunately, they only scored 20 runs, losing the game by two runs.
3. Asia Cup 2012: Virat Kohli’s outstanding 183 vs Pakistan
Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter)
It was a match that made Virat Kohli a household name among cricket fans. With his extraordinary effort, he completely changed the course of the game.
Pakistan’s openers, Mohammed Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, each struck brilliant hundreds for their squad. Together, they amassed 224 runs for their maiden wicket, but ultimately, they dropped back-to-back wickets. The onslaught was then led by Younis Khan, who scored a quickfire fifty to bring Pakistan’s score to an astounding 329.
Hafeez was able to dismiss Gautam Gambhir for a 2-ball duck as a result. Then, young Virat Kohli came on stage. His hunger and yearning were obvious from the moment he encountered the first delivery. Virat criticized not just Sachin Tendulkar but also the opponents. Virat Kohli blasted up to 22 consecutive fours during that Asia Cup encounter, completely destroying Pakistan’s bowling assault. As a result, India won the match.
2. Asia Cup 1984: India’s first-ever championship win
India Team. (Photo Source: Twitter)
India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka competed in the inaugural Asia Cup, which was held in Sharjah. Each team faced the other once in a round-robin tournament, and the team with the most victories was declared the winner of Asia.
Pakistan was defeated by Sri Lanka by five wickets in the opening Asia Cup game. India took against Sri Lanka in their first game. The Sri Lankans were bowled out for 96 runs, with Ranjan Madugalle scoring the most with 38. Chetan Sharma and Madan Lal each took three wickets, while debutant Manoj Prabhakar finished with 2/16 in his ten overs. Surinder Khanna scored 51 and Ghulam Parkar added 32 to enable India to easily reach their goal and win by ten wickets.
In the third match of the tournament, India and Pakistan faced each other. India batted first and scored 188/4 after 46 overs, with Sandeep Patil contributing 43 runs, Surinder Khanna scoring another half-century with 56 runs, and Gavaskar adding 36 runs at the end.
Pakistan’s pursuit was halted by Roger Binny, who took 3/33, and Ravi Shastri, who took 3/40, resulting in four runouts during the Pakistani innings, with Mohsin Khan scoring 35 runs. India won both of its games and was declared the first Asia Cup champion, with Surinder Khanna receiving both the player of the Series and the Man of the Match awards.
1. Bangladesh wins the match and the 2012 Asia Cup despite Sachin’s 100th century.
Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Sachin Tendulkar‘s incredible achievement took place at an unfortunate moment. Tendulkar and the entire country had been waiting a very long time for his 100th ton, which he finally achieved in the 2012 Asia Cup. Sachin scored 114 runs with style. The other members of the batting order also played effectively, raising India’s total to 289 runs.
India was soundly defeated by Bangladesh’s batsmen thanks to their joint batting effort. The Indians were left stunned by the underdogs, which was sad for Indian fans. But Bangladesh fell short of Pakistan in the championship match by only two runs.