5 best knocks by Indian batsmen in Asia Cup ODIs

​

The 2018 Asia Cup, which is scheduled to kick off from September 15, will see the giants of Asia battle it out on the cricket field to establish their domination over the subcontinent. The tournament, originally scheduled in India, had to be shifted to the UAE to address the issue of Pakistan’s participation considering the political tensions between the two nations.

As per the new guidelines, the tournament will once again be played in the ODI format with the 50-over World Cup scheduled to be held next year. The tournament will see Afghanistan paired up with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in one group while defending champions India, Pakistan and the winner of the Asia Cup Qualifiers in the other.

The group stage will witness the bottom two teams eliminated and the top two advancing to the Super Four Stage, the winners of which will play each other in the final to take place on September 28. Let us take a look back into the 5 best knocks by Indian batsmen in Asia Cup ODIs.

#5. Sourav Ganguly 135* vs Bangladesh, 2000

Sourav Ganguly’s 135 against Bangladesh in the 2000 Asia Cup in a rain-affected game at Dhaka is one of the best knocks by an Indian captain in Asia Cup history. The game was played over a span of two days with rain interrupting proceedings on the day of the match.

Chasing a stiff target of 250 in the second innings with a strong possibility of Duckworth Lewis coming into play, the Indian skipper stepped up to the occasion and took the attack to a relatively inexperienced Bangladesh bowling attack and played a vital knock of 135 off 124 balls, staying unbeaten till the end.

His knock, which was well supported by Tendulkar, Badani and Azharuddin at the other end ensured that India chased the target comfortably with almost 10 overs to spare to clinch an important win in the tournament.

​