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History

Asian cricket, with its flair and glamour attracts eyeballs all across the globe with millions keen to tune in to watch India reliving their rivalry on the field with Pakistan.

The Indian subcontinent treats cricket as a religion and passion runs high during when the top guns in the region lock horn to assert their supremacy.

Asia has given world cricket some of the greatest players in over the eras- from Zaheer Abbas to Sachin Tendulkar from Wasim Akram to Muttiah Muralithran, from Imran Khan and Kapil Dev to Shahid Afridi amidst other greats.

India, as a nation will hope and pray that their heroes return triumphant after some rather dismal moments in the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Moreover, they have a score to settle with the hosts- Sri Lanka- who stormed to glory in the Asia Cup two years back- riding on a certain Ajantha Mendis.

The Asia Cup has seen some of the most poignant moments between some of the greatest players of the game. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and see what has happened in the past in the battle of the modern masters in the recent past.

2000 Asia Cup
The seventh edition took place in Bangladesh for the second time. Pakistan and Sri Lanka made it to the final while India only won one match against Bangladesh and did not qualify for the final for the first time. In the final, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and lifted the Asia Cup for the first time.

2004 Asia Cup
The eighth edition took place in Sri Lanka four years after the seventh edition in 2000. There was a change in the tournament format this time. Other Asian teams like UAE and Hong Kong were also included for the first time.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan topped their respective groups and as expected, UAE and Hong Kong were knocked out in the group stage. Bangladesh had the distinction of reaching the knockout stage in a major tournament for the first time, but played poorly in the Super Fours and got eliminated. India and Sri Lanka topped the Super Four stage and reached the final. In the final, Sri Lanka defeated India by 25 runs to win the Asia Cup.

2008 Asia Cup
The ninth edition of the Asia Cup was held in Pakistan. Once again, the 2004 format was retained. Sri Lanka topped Group A and qualified for the second phase along with Bangladesh. In Group B, India came out on top and entered the Super Fours along with Pakistan in second place. Sri Lanka and India topped the Super Four stage and entered the final.

Sri Lanka beat India in the final comfortably to equal India's record of four Asia Cup trophies. Sanath Jayasuriya smashed a quick 125 off 114 balls to rescue Sri Lanka from 66/4 earlier on when the top order had collapsed. Sri Lanka's new mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis, snapped up six of India's mighty batting order, conceding a miserly 13! That left India in tatters resulting in a 100 run defeat.