ODI Asia Cup: 5 Unforgettable Nail-Biting Matches

India vs Pakistan 2010. (Photo source: Twitter)

The Asia Cup began in 1984 and to date, we have seen some brilliant games. The next edition takes place later this year. The competitive spirit is certainly on show as six teams will fight this year with the end goal of being crowned the Asian champions.

On occasions, it takes one player to turn the game around. It could be as simple as one over of a batsman teeing off, a sudden burst of wickets, or a final-over showdown. We look into the history books of the Asia Cup and list 5 nail-biting thrillers below which would have certainly made our hearts skip many beats,.

5. India vs Sri Lanka, 2004, India won by 4 runs

India vs Sri Lanka 2004. (Photo Source: Twitter)

This edition of the Asia Cup was hosted by Sri Lanka, who were trying to take advantage of home conditions to register their third title win. July was the month, and the match took place in the midst of a Sri Lankan summer. Both teams consisted of strong performers which featured a young Irfan Pathan and Lasith Malinga to name a few. Sourav Ganguly was leading India while Marvan Atapattu led Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had won the toss and put India to bat first.

India made 271/6 in 50 overs. Key contributors from India included Virender Sehwag (81), Sourav Ganguly (79). Yuvraj Singh steadied India in the middle overs after Rahul Dravid got out but couldn’t kick on after making 50. 20 extras given by Sri Lanka didn’t help them but Sri Lanka’s slower bowlers enabled India to be limited to 271. In Sri Lanka’s response, their batting was to be centered around the brilliance of Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya received some luck along the way with edges going between fielders. India’s occasional lapses in ground fielding aided Sri Lanka’s chase however India’s catching was still of top quality. Like Sri Lanka, India gave away far too many extras, that being 26.

The chase was still on, but Sri Lankan wickets kept falling. Jayasuriya kept going. His mammoth innings of 130 was aided with Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 39. Virender Sehwag (3-37) got both batters out leaving Sri Lanka at 254/7. Sri Lanka then needed 18 from 17. Irfan Pathan (2-34) and Zaheer Khan (2-63) successfully closed the match and India secured a win.

4. India vs Pakistan, 2014, Pakistan won by 1 wicket

India vs Pakistan 2014. (Photo source: Twitter)

India-Pakistan matches don’t happen often, but whenever they do, one tends to filter out the great players and good players. The previous two editions of the Asia Cup (2010, 2012) saw India beat Pakistan on both occasions, with the 2012 edition seeing the rise of Virat Kohli and his innings of 183. 2014 Asia Cup hosted the next match between the two countries and Mirpur in Bangladesh was the venue for this classic encounter.

Virat Kohli was captaining India while Misbah-Ul-Haq captained Pakistan. India batted first with contributions from Rohit Sharma (56) and Ambati Rayudu (58). Ravindra Jadeja was India’s spine and without MS Dhoni, he was crucial in India making a respectable score. His late onslaught of 52 runs ensured India a total of 245/8. Saeed Ajmal was the standout performer with 3-40. Pakistan began their chase brilliantly before a cluster of wickets fell. Superb bowling by Amit Mishra (2-28) along with run-outs allowed India to come back into the game, however, the low score would come to haunt India later on. Mohammed Hafeez steadied the ship with his 75 and Sohaib Maqsood made 38.

It came down to the final two overs. Pakistan needed 13 runs off 12 balls, with Shahid Afridi batting. Street-smart Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled an outstanding 49th over giving away only three runs and taking two wickets. The equation came down to 10 from the last over and Ravichandran Ashwin was handed the responsibility. Ashwin struck on the first ball with a beauty and Ajmal was back to the dressing room. With Afridi on strike, Pakistan needed nine runs off four balls. Afridi then struck two sixes to seal the game for Pakistan.

3. India vs Bangladesh, 2018, India won by 3 wickets

India vs Bangladesh. (Photo source: Twitter)

This edition of the Asia Cup was held in Dubai with overall six countries participating. In the group stages, India were handed a scare from Hong Kong who were on track to chase India’s total down, but eventually, the Men in Blue won that game.  Bangladesh themselves also had a classic thriller with Afghanistan but Mustafizur Rahman bowled a superb last over and defended the runs required by Afghanistan. The final had been decided, as India and Bangladesh sealed the spots with Dubai being the venue.

Bangladesh batted first and made 222 before being dished out. From initially making a very good start, their batting collapsed, apart from Litton Das who scored an outstanding 121. His innings and Soumya Sarkar’s 33 were the only respectable notes of mention in Bangladesh’s batting as the Indian bowlers did a tremendous job. 222 wasn’t a big total and Bangladesh needed to bowl well for even a slight chance. India’s start to the innings was decent. There were many batters who got in, but none of them converted their knocks into a big innings. Rohit Sharma (48), Dinesh Karthik (37), and MS Dhoni (36) all added few runs but very good bowling in the middle overs by Bangladesh meant India could never score at a quick rate.

After MS Dhoni got out, India were 160/5 and a little later, an injury to Kedar Jadhav meant he had to go off the field and receive treatment. With continued discipline bowling by Bangladesh, the match status was 13 required off 18. Ravindra Jadeja got out which brought Kedar Jadhav back in. The injury had limited his stroke play and ability, but nothing impacted his determination. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got out in the 49th over which left India seven down, needing nine off 11. Although there were dot balls, Kedar and Kuldeep Yadav remained calm and chipped away. India won the final off the last ball with a leg bye. A terrific game in a terrific tournament saw India eventually win and register their seventh Asia Cup title.

2. Afghanistan vs Pakistan, 2018, Pakistan won by 3 wickets

Afghanistan vs Pakistan. (Photo source: Twitter)

The 2018 Asia Cup to date could be labeled the most competitive edition so far. There were some very good games and the teams participating were all very strong. The tournament had seen some brilliant nail-biters, and this contest between Afghanistan and Pakistan at Sharjah went down as a classic.

Afghanistan batted first and put up 257/6. Good scores from Hashmatullah Shahidi (97*) and power-hitting from captain Asghar Afghan (67) propelled Afghanistan to a score that could’ve been a lot better, but they felt they could defend this total with their spin trio. Shaheen Shah Afridi was the star bowler picking up 2-38. Pakistan’s chase started terribly with key batter Fakhar Zaman getting out in the first over.

Imam Ul-Haq (80) and Babar Azam (66) steadied the ship and put together a 154-run partnership. They countered the Afghan bowling well until a run-out and nifty work by the Afghan keeper ended both Imam and Babar’s stay. Afghanistan became motivated and the score eventually became 219/5 with the RRR being 9.75. Pakistan needed some big hits and waiting in the wings with the ball was the masterful Rashid Khan.

In the final four overs, Rashid had two overs left to bowl and though he went for 18 runs, he picked up a couple of vital wickets. It was 10 needed off the final over with the veteran Shoaib Malik on the crease. Aftab Alam bowled, and his first three deliveries were 0,6,4. Malik had won a famous game for Pakistan. A game which seesawed throughout prevailed in Pakistan holding their nerve and using their experience to overpower Afghanistan’s inexperience.

1. India vs Pakistan, 2010, India won by 3 wickets

India vs Pakistan 2010. (Photo source: Twitter)

It’s 2010, it’s Asia Cup, and it’s the big stage with the big players. And it’s India vs Pakistan. The stage was set. Dambulla in Sri Lanka was the venue and everyone’s blood pressure was rising. MS Dhoni was captaining India and Shahid Afridi captained Pakistan. The last time these two teams met in Asia Cup was in 2008 and both teams shared one victory each. Both teams had experienced players and it was down to who can hold their nerve the best.

Pakistan batted first and made 267 all out. Major contributors were Salman Butt (74) and Kamran Akmal (51). Zaheer Khan (2-41) and Harbhajan Singh (2-47) showed their experience and delivered for India while Praveen Kumar took the most wickets (3-53). This cliff-hanger reached halfway and had all the ingredients for a classic. India began their chase and lost two early wickets before Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni relived their ‘India A days’ and stitched a brilliant partnership. Dhoni (56) and Gambhir (83) eventually got out and left it to the lower-order batters to finish the game.

It was down to the last over. It was a battle between the Indian batters and Mohammed Amir, who would hold their nerve. India needed seven runs to win, while Pakistan needed 4 wickets. There was pressure and Harbhajan and Shoaib were locked in a heated conversation which added to the pressure. Raina got run out, but Harbhajan wasn’t fazed. It came down to 3 runs from the final 2 balls. The ball was bowled perfectly on a length and Harbhajan swivelled slightly to make room and swung across to finish the game in style with a massive six, to deep square leg as India clinched a win. India went on to win this Asia Cup which kicked off the process for them to eventually win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.