What happened at the inaugural Asia Cup in 1984?
The 16th edition of the Asia Cup will commence on August 30 with the clash between hosts Pakistan and Nepal in Multan. The inception of this exciting subcontinental tournament happened way back in 1984.
Only three teams - India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka - participated in the inaugural edition of the Asia Cup in 1984, hosted at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Pakistan faced off against Sri Lanka in the first-ever match on April 6. The Lankan side beat their opponents by five wickets to the curtain-raiser of the Asia Cup.
India squared off against Sri Lanka in the second match and beat them comprehensively by 10 wickets. The Sunil Gavaskar-led side skittled out Sri Lanka for a paltry 96 in 41 overs in the first innings and made light work of the target by chasing it in 21.4 overs.
Arch rivals India and Pakistan squared off in the third and final match of the tournament. After batting first, India made 188/4 in the first innings on the back of contributions from Surinder Khanna (54), Sandeep Patil (43), and Sunil Gavaskar (36). Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri scalped three wickets each in the second innings to bundle out Pakistan for just 134.
Team India lifted the trophy as they topped the points table after two games, bagging eight points. Sri Lanka finished second with four points, while Pakistan ended the inaugural Asia Cup without getting off the mark.
India's Surinder Khanna topped the run-charts with 107 runs across two games. Pakistan batter Zaheer Abbas finished second with 74 runs. Ravi Shastri finished as the highest wicket-taker with four scalps. Madan Lal ended up just behind him with two wickets.
Indian cricket team after winning the inaugural Asia cup in 1984.
@BCCI pic.twitter.com/O6UBBZWQls
Team India's full schedule for the 2023 Asia Cup
September 2 - India vs Pakistan, Kandy, 2:00 pm IST
September 4 - India vs Nepal, Kandy, 2:00 pm IST
(If India qualifies for the Super 4s Stages)
September 10 - India vs Pakistan/Nepal, Colombo, 2:00 pm IST
September 12 - India vs Sri Lanka/Afghanistan, Colombo, 2:00 pm IST
September 15 - India vs Bangladesh/Afghanistan, Colombo, 2:00 pm IST