When the Asian Cricket Council was created in 1983, its objectives were to ensure co-operation, harmony and other gooey stuff between Asian cricket-playing nations. The founders decided that the Asia Cup would be an ideal vehicle for this goodwill, and it would be hosted by a different council member every two years. Anticlimactically, the first edition was held in Sharjah, where the council’s offices were based, “so foreign exchange problems would not arise there,” according to a prominent member of the organisation. Since then, the tournament has been scrapped, resurrected, affected by politically motivated decisions … and has generally been a barometer of the deep-running emotions in South Asia, for when it comes to the Asia Cup, not all games are played on the field.1984
On Friday, April 6, 1984, Mohsin Khan strapped on his pads and strode out to a large green ground where cricket had been played before – but never on this scale. Saadat Ali was beside him, and both took guard after Duleep Mendis asked Pakistan to bat at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The weather had influenced Mendis’s decision, for the rains that had hit Sharjah were the city’s first in four years; Dickie Bird, who stood at the bowler’s end, had woken up one morning to the soothing sound of a rising water level in his hotel room.Mohsin and Saadat handled the bowling well while they lasted, but after a 59-run partnership, barring Zaheer Abbas, Pakistan simply collapsed. Sri Lanka, riding on Roy Dias’s half-century, chased down the teeny target with overs to spare. They had won their first game in the Asia Cup, but the celebrations wouldn’t last long. Two days later, they were stifled by Manoj Prabhakar and Madan Lal, and survived 41 overs to score just 96. India didn’t break a sweat on their way to the target.The following Friday, in the last match of the tournament, Pakistan and India met each other. While the match was played in good spirit, the animosity between rival crowds – which became a hallmark of most India-Pakistan matches in Sharjah – created an unpleasant atmosphere. India’s NKP Salve, then the president of the ACC, who had worked to build understanding between India and Pakistan, watched as the spectators bickered. “At one stage,” he said, “I thought it was creating unnecessary bitterness between the Pakistanis and the Indians.” India got off to a sure start, before Sandeep Patil and Sunil Gavaskar took India to 188, a run more than Sri Lanka conceded to Pakistan. Mohsin provided a rock-solid foundation to the run-chase, but Ravi Shastri and Roger Binny – and four run-outs – ended Pakistan’s innings at 134. India had won the first Asia Cup, and it would be four years till they played their next one.1986
The tournament moved on to Sri Lanka, but the spark of hosting their first multi-nation series was missing. The previous year, India had toured Sri Lanka at a time when political tensions overshadowed the cricket, and inevitably, the problems spilled onto the field. Sri Lanka ended up winning their first Test in a match which was marred by umpiring controversy. The Indians left in a huff, but not before a frustrated Kapil Dev indignantly declared, “Sri Lanka will never win a Test match abroad.” So with political and sporting relations not too cheery, India pulled out of the second Asia Cup. New Zealand were brought in at the last minute, and an alternative tournament was hastily arranged to accommodate them. So, in April 1986, you had the spectacle of Sri Lanka starting one tournament on the 5th, and playing the final of another on the 6th.In the middle of this logistical nightmare, Sri Lanka ran all over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, as Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga scored fifties after a nervous start to their run-chase. They reached the target of 192 with five wickets and three overs remaining. It was a disappointing end for Pakistan, who were firm tournament favourites a week before. In their opening match they scored only 197, but still managed to beat Sri Lanka by 81 runs, as five of the top six scored next to nothing.Shrugging off the fatigue, Wasim Akram went on the rampage the next morning, and Bangladesh lasted only 35 overs on their first outing in international cricket. Almost needlessly, Pakistan made heavy weather getting to 98. Bangladesh survived for the full 45 overs in their next game, putting up a respectable score. Sri Lanka eventually overwhelmed them by seven wickets and, at a time when batsmen were given match awards for scoring forties, Asanka Gurusinha was named Man of the Match. As for the tournament involving New Zealand, Pakistan won it on run rate.1988
Pakistan and India were smarting from their defeats in the previous year’s World Cup, but had done enough since then – you could argue that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hadn’t done much at all – to become favourites for the final of the third Asia Cup. Bangladesh, the hosts, had last played in 1986, while Sri Lanka came into the series with seven straight losses. Ultimately though, India did reach the finals, but they weren’t the favourites. Far from it. Led by Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka swept through the preliminary round, inflicting heavy defeats on Pakistan and Bangladesh, and coming up trumps against India after scoring 271 in 45 overs, an innings where de Silva and Ranatunga flung their bats at everything Narendra Hirwani and Mohinder Amarnath tossed up. India’s rapid start was frittered away, and they lost only narrowly. The supreme manner in which Sri Lanka stormed through the series revealed a growing realisation of their own ability.Elsewhere that day, Pakistan ransacked Bangladesh. Boosted by Ijaz Ahmed’s unbeaten century – at a strike rate of 142 – Pakistan ran up a massive score. As good as out of the tournament by now, Bangladesh pottered around for their entire innings, and lost by 173 runs. They lost their last match, against Sri Lanka, by the same margin as their first: nine wickets. It all meant that Pakistan had to play India for a place in the final.When Pakistan put on 62 for the first wicket, India’s decision to field first seemed unwise. Then, out of nowhere, Arshad Ayub struck with five wickets to send Pakistan tumbling. But restricting the score, as India soon found out, was a job only half done. With 70-odd runs on the board, they were certain favourites to overhaul Pakistan’s 142. Just then, Abdul Qadir claimed Srikkanth and Dilip Vengsarkar, and later added Kapil Dev to his hit list. Wasim grabbed two and, suddenly, India were 116 with six wickets down. Amarnath killed the suspense with a storm-weathering 74.Boosted by the victory, a more resolved India turned up in the final. Sri Lanka stuttered and sputtered to 176, and Navjot Sidhu (76) and a round 50 by Vengsarkar took India to 180, and their second cup victory in three tournaments.1990-91
As the fourth edition of the Asia Cup kicked off in India, the sombre mood prevalent had yet to dissolve. Once again, sectarian violence and differences disrupted the tournament and this time it was Pakistan who were not playing. But while India, as a country, was affected outside the ground, their performance against Bangladesh followed a familiar trend: bowl first, restrict score, knock off runs. India waltzed past the paltry target. Sri Lanka, though, were a different matter. Minor contributions from the top five, climaxing with Ranatunga’s fifty, meant India had to chase a smallish target of 215. They never got there, for the bowlers achieved constant breakthroughs and allowed no-one to settle; the assuredness of the previous game deserted them, and they fell behind by 36 runs.Yet again, Sri Lanka had the upper hand going into the final. But there was the small matter of getting past Bangladesh first. It was indeed a small matter, as Bangladesh lost by yet another large margin after de Silva – at his bloodthirsty best – crunched 89 off 60 balls.However, Sri Lanka’s traumatic run in finals against India continued at Eden Gardens after they scored 204, with Kapil running through the lower-middle order. India chased another small Sri Lankan total, but with success this time, as Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin led the charge to victory. India’s hold over the Asia Cup continued.1995
The Asia Cup was back on familiar territory. Sharjah’s stadium had been revamped considerably since 1984, but the jingoism remained. In the first two matches of the tournament, Bangladesh were beaten by India and Sri Lanka, and the stands, otherwise almost empty, spilled over on the Friday when Pakistan took on India.Since Miandad’s famous last-ball six at Sharjah in 1986, Pakistan had enjoyed the edge in their meetings, but Indian supporters believed that things would be different this time. Why? Well, this time they had Tendulkar, and he was in the form of his life. In the previous game, Tendulkar had scored an imperious 48 before boredom – officially an inside edge – did him in. Here, chasing Pakistan’s large score of 266, he was knocked on the helmet by Wasim Akram, to the delight of many in the crowd. “Make a cushion out of shorty,” a voice – Pakistani, naturally – in the stands screamed. Barely an over later, Tendulkar’s propensity to attack had him edging Aaqib Javed behind. Many heads rose and many others slumped as they realised the effect his dismissal would have on the team. Pakistan’s score, raised on the back of powerful knocks by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim, now looked truly impregnable. Aaqib, who dismissed both openers, ran through the middle order and ended with five. The next day, Bangladesh were swept aside by six wickets, and Pakistan were all but through to the final. But in the finals, six days later, not a single green flag waved in the stands.What happened was this: India routed Sri Lanka in the preliminary round, overhauling a target of 206 within 34 overs. Tendulkar’s fast-paced century boosted India’s overall run rate. And when Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka, all three teams ended on equal points. Cruelly, Pakistan had the lowest run rate of the three.Sri Lanka and India met in a final yet again, and Gurusinha led the charge with 85. But on a wicket where 250 was barely safe, Sri Lanka’s 230 was clearly not enough. Even as the day went by, the pitch flattened, and after Tendulkar’s mandatory manic burst at the start, Sidhu and Azharuddin clinched the final with plenty to spare. However, Sri Lanka’s bad run in finals wouldn’t last much longer.1997
As the sixth Asia Cup began, the healthy respect Sri Lanka had enjoyed in previous years turned into outright fear. The same batsmen, maddeningly inconsistent earlier, had galvanised themselves in Australia before taking the ’96 World Cup by storm. At the top of the order, Sanath Jayasuriya, a butcher in his own right, punished the ball no matter where you put it: and if he got out, the next four batsmen didn’t let up. It was a golden period for Sri Lanka, and the Asia Cup was in the middle of it.Sri Lanka warmed up with a narrow victory over Pakistan. Jayasuriya’s fine all-round effort prevented Pakistan from reaching a target of 240 on the slow Premadasa wicket. But against Bangladesh a little later, Pakistan found redemption in the form of a 109-run victory.Like Pakistan, India’s start against Sri Lanka wasn’t joyful. The bowlers and fielders dried up runs, restricting India to a total not challenging enough for the confident Sri Lankan batting order. There was a glimmer of hope for India when Jayasuriya was dismissed off the first ball, but Ranatunga went on the attack with an unbeaten century. However, in their next game, India had Pakistan on the mat at 30 for 5 when rains caused the game to be abandoned. It left Pakistan at India’s mercy, for if India beat Bangladesh convincingly, they, not Pakistan, would enter the finals. Meanwhile, Jayasuriya went on the rampage against Bangladesh with an 83-ball 108. Sri Lanka completely ravaged them, and soon after, India had a go as well.On the morning of the final, Tendulkar won the toss and opted to bat, believing the pitch would disintegrate later on. Even more surprisingly, India entered the game with only three front-line bowlers. It played right into Ranatunga’s hands – he preferred chasing in finals. India were never allowed to get away, and their score of 239 was surpassed with laughable ease after Jayasuriya and Atapattu put on 137 before a wicket fell. After five unsuccessful tries, Sri Lanka had finally broken the jinx.2000
Twelve years before, in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka had romped through the league stages before losing the finals. In this edition, it was Pakistan’s turn to run riot, but they didn’t falter at the last hurdle. In the space of six days, Pakistan were done and dusted with the tournament as first Bangladesh, then India, followed by Sri Lanka (twice), were brushed aside without mercy. Bangladesh were hammered by 233 runs, India by 44, and Sri Lanka by seven wickets and then 39 runs. Pakistan’s batsmen regularly ran up large totals, and then let the bowlers take over. Abdul Razzaq picked up eight wickets in three games, and only three times in the tournament did a Pakistan bowler concede more than 50 runs in a spell. They were disciplined and efficient, and they played to their potential consistently. Frightening stuff.Bangladesh were clobbered in every game they played, while Sri Lanka did enough to get into the finals, exposing India’s tendency to freeze when the going got tough, with a 71-run victory. And it was tough going indeed, as Jayasuriya struck another century in Sri Lanka’s 276. Tendulkar’s 93 was the only real resistance, for the others crumpled in a heap. After the Asia Cup, Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and a few others were suspended after a match-fixing inquiry, and cricket would take a good hard look at itself. South Asia, in particular, would come under severe scrutiny, and the next Asia Cup will almost certainly be monitored closely for anything remotely shady.But with the 2000 edition, the founders of the ACC were finally seeing results: with three different winners in the last three tournaments, the Asia Cup was now changing hands every two years.