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Writer's pictureVijay Raman

Asia Cup in numbers: The best of the best, the Tigers who roared

Updated: Aug 27, 2023

Asia Cup in numbers: The top batters, bowlers, wicketkeepers, fielders and team records from all Asia Cup so far.

Asia Cup 2011/12: Virat Kohli scored 183 against Pakistan at Mirpur | Walking Wicket (Images: ©Twitter)
Virat Kohli scored 183 against Pakistan at Mirpur (Images: ©Twitter)

The upcoming Asia Cup will be the 16th edition of the prestigious multi-national cricket tournament. While there have been 15 tournaments in the past, it has not entirely been played in the ODI format with two editions being played in the T20I format.


We will here see how the past 13 editions of the Asia Cup in the ODI format have panned out. A total of 8 teams have featured in the Asia Cup since 1984, and Sri Lanka is the only team to have featured in all the editions so far.


Top 3 scores

Team

Opposite

Score

Venue

Date

Match Result

Pakistan

Bangladesh

385/7

Dambulla

21 Jun 2010

Pak won by 139 runs

India

Hong Kong

374/4

Karachi

25 Jun 2008

India won by 256 runs

Sri Lanka

Bangladesh

357/9

Lahaore

25 Jun 2008

SL won by 131 runs

Pakistan have scored the highest ever total in Asia Cup history, having amassed a mammoth 385 in the 2010 Asia Cup game against Bangladesh. Shahid Afridi scored a 60-ball 124 which led to Pakistan winning the game by 139 runs. Next in the list is India, the 374 came in a winning cause against Hong Kong, followed by Sri Lanka’s hammering Bangladesh for 357, both the 2nd and the 3rd highest scores, interestingly, happened on the same day.


Lowest scores

Team

Opposite

Score

Venue

Date

Match Result

Bangladesh

Pakistan

87

Dhaka

2 Jun 2000

Ban lost by 233 runs

Bangladesh

Pakistan

94

Moratuwa

31 Mar 1986

Ban lost by 7 wickets

Sri Lanka

India

96

Sharjah

8 Apr 1984

SL lost by 10 wickets

Bangladesh hold the dubious record of having the top-2 lowest totals in ODI Asia Cup history and both of them came against Pakistan. Sri Lanka’s 96 against India in 1984 is the 3rd lowest ever total in Asia Cup history.



Highest victory margins (runs)

Team

Opposite

Score

Venue

Date

Margin of win

India

Hong Kong

374/4

Karachi

25 Jun 2008

By 256 runs

Pakistan

Bangladesh

320/3

Dhaka

2 June 2000

By 233 runs

Pakistan

Bangladesh

284/3

Chattogram

20 Oct 1988

By 173 runs

India leads the list with its mammoth 256-run victory over Hong Kong in the 2008 Asia Cup held in Pakistan. Suresh Raina and the then Indian skipper both hit centuries as India piled up 374 in their quota of overs, and Hong Kong in turn were bowled out for just 118 runs.


The next 2 highest margin of wins were achieved by Pakistan and their opponent both the time was Bangladesh, whom they beat by 233 and 173 runs in 2000 and 1998 respectively.


Lowest victory margins (runs)

Team

Opposite

Score

Venue

Date

Margin of win

Pakistan

Bangladesh

236/9

Mirpur

22 Mar 2022

By 2 runs

India

Sri Lanka

271/6

Colombo

27 Jul 2004

By 4 runs

Pakistan

India

257/7

Sharjah

23 Oct 1991

By 4 runs

In what was a thriller at Mirpur in the Asia Cup 2012 Final, Pakistan won a close game by mere 2 runs against Bangladesh. After making 236 with the bat, Pakistan bounced back strongly to restrict the hosts to only 234, thanks to an all-round performance by Shahid Afridi.

In the 2004 game, India won against Sri Lanka by 4 runs, this time with the help of Virender Sehwag’s heroics who made 81 with the bat and also took 3 wickets. Similarly, Pakistan also won the game against India by a 4-run margin back in 1991, in which Aamer Sohail emerged as the real match-winner.



Batting Records in Asia Cup

Top run-scorers in Asia cup

Player

Team

Innings

Total Runs

HS

Ave

SR

50s/100s

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka

24

1220

130

53.04

102.52

3/6

Kumar Sangakkara

Sri Lanka

23

1075

121

48.86

84.51

8/4

Sachin Tendulkar

India

21

971

114

51.10

85.476

7/2

Most centuries in Asia Cup

Player

Team

Innings

Total Runs

50s/100s

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka

24

1220

3/6

Kumar Sangakkara

Sri Lanka

23

1075

8/4

Virat Kohli

India

10*

613*

1/3*

The Sri Lankan duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya dominate the list of top batters, with them dominating both the runs chart and the list of top centurions. While Jayasuriya heads the pack with 1220 runs and 6 tons in a total of 24 innings, Sangakkara comes in a close 2nd with 1075 runs and 4 centuries in a total of 23 innings. Virat Kohli, the modern day batting legend from India, comes in at number 3 with a total of 971 runs, hitting 3 centuries in just 10 innings, and one should be hoping that the meter keeps running in this edition and in many more to come.


It is to be noted that Shoaib Malik also has 3 centuries in Asia Cup clashes, but he took 5 innings more than Kohli.


Highest individual scores in Asia cup

Player

Team

Score

Opposition

SR

Venue

Date

Match Result

Virat Kohli

India

183 (148)

Pakistan

123.64

Dhaka

18 Mar 2022

Ind won by 6 wkt

Younus Khan

Pakistan

144 (122)

Hong Kong

118.03

Colombo

18 Jul 2004

Pak won by 173 runs

Mushfuqur Rahim

Bangladesh

144 (150)

Sri Lanka

96.00

Dubai

15 Sep 2018

Ban won by 137 runs

Kohli’s 183 came during a successful chase of 330 for India and this remains the champion batters’ highest ODI score till date.


In the second place comes Pakistan’s Younus Khan. Batting first alongside Shoaib Malik, who also scored a century, they piled up a score of 343 against Hong Kong at Mirpur, which later proved to be too much for the young side.


Likewise, Mushfiqur’s Rahim’s epic knock of 144 where the Bangladesh team’s total score was just 261 helped them achieve the famous 137-run victory over the Sri Lankan team in the 2018 Asia Cup opener in Dubai.


Bowling Records in Asia Cup

Top wicket-takers in Asia Cup

Player

Team

Innings

Wickets

BBI

Ave

ER

4w/5w

Muthiah Muralidaran

Sri Lanka

24

30

5/31

28.83

3.75

1/1

Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka

14

29

5/34

20.55

4.65

1/3

Ajantha Mendis

Sri Lanka

8

26

6/13

10.42

3.98

2/2

Most five-wicket hauls in Asia Cup

Player

Team

Wicket

Total 5 fers

Strike Rate

Lasith Malinga

Sri Lanka

29

3

26.51

Ajantha Mendis

Sri Lanka

26

2

15.69

Muthiah Muralidaran

Sri Lanka

30

1

46.06

Just like the batting records, the Sri Lankan trio of Muthiah Muralidaran, Ajantha Mendis and Lasith Malinga also dominate in bowling in Asia Cup. The spin wizard Murali has taken the maximum wickets (30) in ODI Asia cup matches at an economy of just 3.75, while Malinga has taken the most 5-wicket hauls in Asia cup (3), followed by compatriot Mendis.


6 other bowlers have also taken 1 five-wicket haul each in the Asia Cup.



Best spells in Asia Cup

Player

Team

BBI

Opposition

Venue

Date

Match Result

Ajantha Mendis

Sri Lanka

6/13

India

Karachi

6 Jul 2008

SL won by 100 runs

Aaqib Javed

Bangladesh

5/19

India

Sharjah

7 Apr 1995

Pak won by 97 runs

Arshad Ayub

India

5/21

Pakistan

Dhaka

31 Oct 1988

Ind won by 4 wickets

Ajantha Mendis’ famous spell of 6/13 gave Sri Lanka a stunning 100-run win over India in the finals of Asia Cup 2008, as did Aaqib Javed’s 5/19 for Pakistan in 1995.


Arshad Ayub bowled beautifully to take 5/21 in 1988 a match against India, but the Indian side still managed to sail through and won by 4 wickets in a low-scoring game.


Fielding Records in Asia Cup

Most catches in Asia Cup

Player

Team

Catches

Max Catches in innings

Total Matches

Mahela Jayawardene

Sri Lanka

15

3

28

Younus Khan

Pakistan

14

3

14

Aravinda de Silva

Sri Lanka

12

2

24

While Mahela Jayawardene has the most catches among non-wicketkeepers in Asia Cup, Younus Khan comes 2nd with 14 catches in a lot less number of matches - a remarkable feat indeed. Aravinda De Silva from Sri Lanka completes the list with 12 catches.


Wicketkeeping records in Asia Cup

Most dismissals

Player

Team

Dismissals

Catches

Stumping

Matches

MDPG

MS Dhoni

India

36

25

11

19

5

Kumar Sangakkara

Sri Lanka

36

27

9

24

4

Moin Khan

Pakistan

17

12

5

14

3

*MDPG - Most Dismissal Per Game

The legendary wicketkeepers MS Dhoni and Kumar Sangakkara have 36 dismissals each to their name in Asia Cup, although the former Indian captain’s came in just 19 games as compared to the Sri Lankan’s 24. The next is 17 by Pakistan’s Moin Khan who is also in level with Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim.


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