The Asia Cup is the second biggest tournament of cricket after the World Cup. Held by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), this championship is played between Asian countries.
India has won seven Asia Cup titles. With a long rich history and legacy of excellence in cricket, the Indian cricket team has faced a lot of ups and downs throughout the journey.
There were a lot of incredible moments created by the Indian cricket team in the Asia Cup so far. In this article, we will overview India’s performance from Asia Cup 1984 to Asia Cup 2022.
Today, we are comparing India’s performance against rivals in the Asia Cup. Accordingly, let’s go through the best moments for India head-to-head against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other opponents.
India’s Performance in Each Edition of The Asia Cup
Let’s have a look at India’s performance in each edition of the Asia Cup:
- 1984 Asia Cup (United Arab Emirates):
India won the first Asia Cup held in Sharjah. To achieve the title they won both matches played against Pakistan & Sri Lanka.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 1986 Asia Cup (Sri Lanka):
After winning in the first edition, however, India did not attend the 1988 Asia Cup. At that time, India had sour cricketing relations with the host country Sri Lanka.
India’s Journey: Did not attend
- 1988 Asia Cup (Bangladesh):
The 1988 Asia Cup was another memorable event for India. They started the tournament beating Bangladesh by 9 wickets. However, India lost the next match against Sri Lanka.
In the India vs. Pakistan match at Dhaka, Pakistan was defeated by 4 wickets. Finally, India acquired their second Asia Cup championship winning against Sri Lanka in the final by 6 wickets (with 47 balls remaining)
India’s Journey: Championship
- 1990-91 Asia Cup (India):
India continued their legacy in the Asia Cup. It was a special tournament for them being the host for the first time.
Starting with a win by 9 wickets against Bangladesh, India somehow upsets their fans against Sri Lanka. But in the final, India bounced back beating Sri Lanka by 7 wickets & won the championship.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 1995 Asia Cup (United Arab Emirates):
In the group stage all three teams, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka had equal points. India & Sri Lanka went to the final with a better run rate. Eventually, India yet again secured their 4th Asia Cup championship.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 1997 Asia Cup (Sri Lanka):
India played 3 matches in the group stage. Lost against Sri Lanka, won against Bangladesh, and the match between India and Pakistan was abandoned. Host Sri Lanka beat India and won the 1997 Asia Cup title.
India’s Journey: Runners-up
- 2000 Asia Cup (Bangladesh):
The 2000 Asia Cup was a complete upset for the Indian side. This was the first time they had to leave the group stage. Both Sri Lanka & Pakistan beat them by a margin.
India’s Journey: Group Stage
- 2004 Asia Cup (Sri Lanka):
In this edition, Hong Kong and UAE participated for the first time. India beat Bangladesh, UAE, and Sri Lanka. However, India couldn’t show their dominance against Pakistan.
India managed to reach the final but Sri Lanka once again defeated them by 25 runs.
India’s Journey: Runners-up
- 2008 Asia Cup (Pakistan):
The 2008 Asia Cup had seen both sides of the coin for India Pakistan battle. In the group stage, India defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets. Pakistan took the redemption in Super Four, beating India by 8 wickets.
Sri Lanka dominated India in the final winning by 100 runs.
India’s Journey: Runners-up
- 2010 Asia Cup (Sri Lanka):
After a long wait of 15 years, India retained their prestigious Asia Cup title in 2010.
India achieved their fifth title beating Sri Lanka by 81 runs in the final. In their road to the final, India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 2012 Asia Cup (Bangladesh):
The 2012 Asia Cup was an iconic one as Shachin Tendulkar completed his 100th century against Bangladesh. However, they lost against Bangladesh in that match.
Although India beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they couldn’t reach the final.
India’s Journey: Group Stage
- 2014 Asia Cup (Bangladesh)
Another bad luck tournament for India where they didn’t qualify for the final.
As always, there was an epic battle between India and Pakistan. With a twist in the tail, Pakistan beat India by 1 wickets. India also faced a loss by 2 wickets against Sri Lanka.
India’s Journey: Group Stage
- 2016 Asia Cup (Bangladesh):
This tournament was the first-ever T20 format edition of the Asia Cup.
India was the unbeaten champion of the first T-20 edition Asia Cup. On the road to their sixth Asia Cup title, India defeated Bangladesh, Pakistan, UAE, and Sri Lanka.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 2018 Asia Cup (United Arab Emirates):
Another Asia Cup, yet another title! Once again India was the unbeaten champion.
The 2018 Asia Cup was full of excitement. In the Super Four match, Afghanistan tied against India. We’ve seen India and Pakistan battle two times while India fully dominated Pakistan.
In the end, the final was breathtaking. India lifted their seventh Asia Cup Trophy winning against Bangladesh in the last ball.
India’s Journey: Championship
- 2022 (United Arab Emirates):
Starting the tournament with a win by 5 wickets against Pakistan, India gave a strong signal to the battle.
However, India couldn’t cross the Super 4 stage as Pakistan took the revenge and beat them by 5 wickets in the next encounter. India also faced a defeat against Sri Lanka in the super four.
India’s Journey: Super 4 stage
Head-to-Head Stats in the Asia Cup
Head to Head in Asia Cup: India against Pakistan
Head to Head: 13 matches
India: 7 wins
Pakistan: 5 wins
Match abandoned: 1
Head to Head in Asia Cup: India against Sri Lanka
Head to Head: 21 matches
India: 10 wins
Sri Lanka: 11 wins
India vs. Sri Lanka Asia Cup Head-to-Head Records in Final:
India wins: 4
Sri Lanka wins: 4
Head to Head in Asia Cup: India against Bangladesh
Head to Head: 14 matches
India wins: 13
Bangladesh wins: 1
Head to Head in Asia Cup: India against Afghanistan
Head to Head: 3 matches
India wins: 2
Afghanistan wins: 0
Match tied: 1
Final Words
The Asia Cup is such a tournament that catches all the big fishes of Asian cricket in a battle. So obviously, the Clash of Titans has been a great excitement for the spectators.
Whether it is between India Pakistan, or Sri Lanka India rivalry, this tournament has never failed to shock and amaze us. The cricketing extravaganza spiced up cricket for epic battles with bat and ball.
In this article, we tried to give you a pen picture of Asia Cup history by comparing India’s performance against rivals: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and more. Nowadays, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are also turning out to be a threatening opponent for India in Asia Cups. The Asia Cup 2023 is ongoing, hope you are enjoying the drama, clashes, and rivalries.
