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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > Asia Cup 2004 > Asia Cup: A brief history 23.07 IST 06th July 2004 By Manish Kumar The Asia Cup, last played at Dhaka in June 2000, has been reintroduced after the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan. The six-nation tournament will be held in Sri Lanka from July 16 to August 2. The Asia Cup was first played in the desert venue of Sharjah in 1984. Called the Rothmans Asia Cup, it had India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka fighting it out for the title. The Indian team, fresh from being crowned the World Champions, just the previous year, was led by Sunil Gavaskar. Sri Lanka were led by Dileep Mendis, while Zaheer Abbas captained the Pakistanis. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the first match of the tournament by 5 wickets on April 6, 1984. But in the next match on April 8, India beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets by successfully chasing a victory target of 97 runs from 50 overs. On April 13 met India and Pakistan in the third match of the tournament. Winning the toss and electing to bat, India scored 188 runs from the maximum 46 overs. Wicketkeeper Surinder Khanna top scored with a knock of 56 runs, while Sandeep Patil chipped in with 43 runs. The Indians led by Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri bowled out Pakistan for just 134 runs in 39.4 overs. Both Binny and Shastri took three wickets each, as India became the first Asian Cup champions. The second edition of the tournament was held in Sri Lanka in 1986. Apart from the hosts, Pakistan and Bangladesh were the other two teams. India did not take part in the tournament due to some political tensions with Pakistan. This time called the John Player Gold Leaf Trophy, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final of the tournament by 5 wickets on April 6, 1986. The third edition of the tournament, billed as Wills Asia Cup, was held in 1988 in Bangladesh. Led by Dilip Vengsarkar, India beat Sri Lanka (skippered by Arjuna Ranatunga) by 6 wickets in the final on November 4. Pakistan and Bangladesh were the other two participating teams. The fourth Asia Cup was held in India in December 1990/January 1991. Pakistan did not take part in the tournament and that left only India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the fray. India successfully defended their title on January 4, 1991 by beating the Lankans by 7 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Skipper Mohammed Azharuddin was adjudged the Man of the Match for slamming 54 runs off just 39 balls. Azhar remained not out with Sanjay Manjrekar, who scored 75. Playing his first Asia Cup, a teenager with the name of Sachin Tendulkar scored 53 runs. The next edition of the Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 1993, was cancelled because India didn’t agree to play. The next Asia Cup was held in 1995, returning to the desert venue of Sharjah. Though Pakistan and Bangladesh also took part in the tournament, it was India and Sri Lanka that reached the final. On April 14, 1995, India beat the Lankans by 8 wickets to win the title this time called the Pepsi Asia Cup. In 1997, Sri Lanka hosted the next edition of the Asia Cup, known as the Pepsi Asia Cup. India were led by Sachin Tendulkar, while the Lankans were the world champions at that time, having a huge confidence of playing at home. Pakistan, led by Rameez Raja, and Bangladesh, led by Akram Khan, again failed to reach the final. Led by Ranatunga, Sri Lanka defeated India by 8 wickets in Colombo on July 26. The Lankans easily chased a victory target of 240 runs in just 36.5 overs. The Asia Cup in the year 2000 was held in Bangladesh. Playing the tournament under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly, India failed to reach the final of the tournament for the first time. Pakistan and Sri Lanka met in the final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Led by Moin Khan, Pakistan won the toss and batted first to score 277 runs with the loss of 4 wickets in 50 overs. Under the captaincy of Sanath Jayasuriya, the Lankans failed to achieve the target and were bowled out 238 runs in 45.2 overs, even though Marvan Atapattu struck a wonderful hundred. Moin was adjudged the Man of the Match for his quickfire knock of 56 runs off 31 balls, as Pakistan won the Asia Cup for the first time. Now being held after four years in Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup will also have United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, apart from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The tournament will include two round-robin stages, starting with two groups of three. This will be followed by a Super Four stage, and then the final. A total of 13 one-dayers will be played, with nine matches to be played under lights. Three venues are to be used: Sinhalese Sports Club, Premadasa International Stadium and the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Group A has Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong, while Group B consists of India, Sri Lanka and UAE. The Asia Cricket Council expects the tournament to now be staged every two years in addition to the Asian Test Championship. in-depth coverage > Asia Cup 2004 > |
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