Flashback: The first-ever Asia Cup final
Asia Cup is a tournament that has produced some exhilarating cricket over the years. Fans wait with bated breath to watch the top Asian sides battling it out in the prestigious tournament. The inaugural edition of the Asia Cup was played back in 1984. Only three teams (India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) took part in the tournament back then. The tournament was played in Sharjah in a round-robin format where each team played the other once.
India, who won the ODI World Cup in 1983, defeated both Pakistan and Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan to finish runner-up. There was no final in this edition of the Asia Cup as India won by virtue of being the table toppers.
The second edition of the tournament was played in 1986 and Sri Lanka were the hosts. India opted out of the tournament as their cricketing relations with Sri Lanka took a beating at that time. Bangladesh replaced the defending champions of the tournament after qualifying by virtue of their win in the 1984 South-East Asia Cup.
The 1984 final
After a disastrous campaign in 1984, Pakistan bounced back strongly and won both their matches in the round-robin stage to make it to the summit clash. On the expected lines, Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh to meet Pakistan in the final.
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo hosted the final where Duleep Mendis won the toss and invited the tourists to bat first in a 45-over-per-side contest. From a critical situation at 4/32, Javed Miandad gave his team a fighting total of 191/9 as he made a 100-ball 67.
Saleem Malik (23 off 27 balls) and Manzoor Elahi (37 off 52 balls) gave Miandad good company and Abdul Qadir played a mesmerising cameo of 30 off 19 balls to help Pakistan head into the innings break with some momentum. Pacer Kaushik Amalean bowled beautifully and finished with figures of 4/46 in nine overs.
In reply, Sri Lanka got off to a sedate start before losing three wickets in quick succession and finding themselves in a tricky situation at 64/3. However, a 97-run partnership between Aravinda de Silva (52 off 67 balls) and Arjuna Ranatunga (57 off 55 balls) eased the nerves and took the home side to the brink.
Skipper Mendis put the finishing touches with an unbeaten cameo of 22 in 18 balls as Sri Lanka won by five wickets with 16 balls to spare. Qadir was sensational as he picked up a three-for but in the end, Pakistan did not have enough runs on the board. Miandad was named Player of the Match while Ranatunga was given the Player of the Series award.
