3 times India and Pakistan narrowly missed a chance to play in an Asia Cup final against each other
The most storied cricketing rivalry continues to go amiss in the marquee clash of the Asia Cup, as history repeated itself to lengthen the wait for an India-Pakistan final in the continental tournament.
While the teams appeared destined to play in the summit clash this time, Sri Lanka shocked Pakistan in the virtual semi-final to set up a final date with India on Sunday.
Coming into the Super Fours on the back of red-hot ODI form, the Men in Green suffered back-to-back losses against India and Sri Lanka to bow out of the tournament.
Over the previous 15 editions of the Asia Cup, the trophy has been shared by only three teams - India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. While the Men in Blue have clinched the title seven times, the Lankan Lions have emerged victors six times, and Pakistan only twice.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (to a lesser extent) have played party spoilers in preventing an epic India-Pakistan Asia Cup final. While Team India have featured in 10 finals, Pakistan have qualified for the summit clash on just five occasions.
Yet, the arch-rivals have come close on a few occasions to meet in the ultimate clash, only for a narrow miss to cost one of the teams from advancing.
In an Asia Cup revisit, let us look back on three previous occasions where India and Pakistan narrowly missed out on playing in an Asia Cup final against each other.
#1 1995 Asia Cup
The 1995 Asia Cup was perhaps the closest we ever came to India and Pakistan meeting in a final. With Bangladesh still finding its feet in world cricket, the race to the summit clash was a battle between the other three teams - India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Heading into the final group stage game between the world champions Pakistan and soon-to-be world champions Sri Lanka, the Men in Green were in pole position to join India in the grand finale. While the Men in Blue was second with two wins and a loss in three games, Pakistan had won both matches before the Sri Lanka clash.
With a much superior net run rate to Sri Lanka, all Pakistan had to do was not lose by a massive margin to play India in the grand finale. However, in a shocker, the Men in Green folded under pressure to score only 178 with the bat and allowed the Lankans to knock off the target in 30.5 overs.
All this meant Sri Lanka just pipped Pakistan on net run rate to finish second in a three-way tie to advance to the final against India. All three teams finished with four points, with India topping the table, courtesy of a better net run rate (+4.856). Sri Lanka finished second with a net run rate of +4.701, and Pakistan third at 4.596.
It came down to decimal points on run rates in a tie-breaker to prevent India and Pakistan from meeting in the 1995 Asia Cup final.
In the final, India defeated Sri Lanka comprehensively by eight wickets to clinch their fourth Asia Cup title.
#2 2012 Asia Cup
While it has often been Sri Lanka who have come in the way of an India-Pakistan Asia Cup final, the 2012 edition was Bangladesh's turn to play spoilsport.
Pakistan and India had won their respective opening games of the four-team competition and appeared on a collision course in the ultimate clash. However, as Pakistan won their second game to almost certainly book their place in the final, the Men in Blue suffered a shocking defeat to Bangladesh when a victory would have confirmed an India-Pakistan final.
The result opened up the table again, though India defeated Pakistan in their final group-stage game, thanks to Virat Kohli's famous 183. This meant Sri Lanka had to beat Bangladesh in the last league game to set up the much-anticipated matchup between the arch-rivals.
Things grew brighter for the clash when the Tigers were reeling at 40/3 in a run-chase of 212 in 40 overs. Yet, inspired half-centuries by Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan propelled Bangladesh to a famous five-wicket victory in front of their home fans.
The result helped Bangladesh leapfrog India to second on the points due to their head-to-head against them in the tournament, thus eliminating the defending Asia Cup champions.
In an exciting finale, Pakistan overcame a spirited Bangladesh side by a mere two runs to clinch their second Asia Cup title.
#3 2018 Asia Cup
The previous ODI Asia Cup before the ongoing edition was another great opportunity missed for an India-Pakistan final.
Back to the six-team competition for the first time since 2008, defining champions India and arch-rivals Pakistan advanced comfortably out of Group A to the Super Fours. Group B endured a stunning result when Afghanistan and Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka to qualify for the Super Fours.
With two teams that had never won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and Afghanistan, an India-Pakistan final seemed inevitable. In addition, India and Pakistan won their opening games of the Super Fours to inch closer to the marquee clash.
However, following their defeat to Team India, the Men in Green were in a similar position to the ongoing tournament, with a virtual semi-final against Bangladesh. Chasing 240, Pakistan suffered an embarrassing defeat, losing by 37 runs to be out of the tournament courtesy of Bangladesh again.
In the summit clash, India endured a tremendous fight by the Tigers to pull off a last-ball victory and lift the Asia Cup trophy for a record seventh time.