Swig of the Asia Cup
When the Asian Cricket Council was created in 1983, its objectives were to ensure co-operation, harmony and other gooey stuff between Asian cricket-playing nations. The founders decided that the Asia Cup would be a vehicle for this goodwill, and it would be hosted by a different council member every two years. Anticlimactically, the first edition was held in Sharjah, where the council’s offices were based, “so foreign exchange problems would not arise there,” according to a prominent member of the organisation. Since then, the tournament has been scrapped, resurrected, affected by politically motivated decisions … and has generally been a barometer of the deep-running emotions in South Asia, for when it comes to the Asia Cup, not all games are played on the field.
1984
On Friday, April 6, 1984, Mohsin Khan strapped on his pads and strode out to a large green ground where cricket had been played before - but never on this scale. Saadat Ali was beside him, and both took guard after Duleep Mendis asked Pakistan to bat at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The weather had influenced Mendis’s decision, for the rains that had hit Sharjah were the city’s first in four years; Dickie Bird, who stood at the bowler’s end, had woken up one morning to the soothing sound of a rising water level in his hotel room.
Mohsin and Saadat handled the bowling well while they lasted, but after a 59-run partnership, barring Zaheer Abbas, Pakistan simply collapsed. Sri Lanka, riding on Roy Dias’s half-century, chased down the teeny target with overs to spare. They had won their first game in the Asia Cup, but the celebrations wouldn’t last long. Two days later, they were stifled by Manoj Prabhakar and Madan Lal, and survived 41 overs to score just 96. India didn’t break a sweat on their way to the target.
The following Friday, in the last match of the tournament, Pakistan and India met each other. While the match was played in good spirit, the animosity between rival crowds – which became a hallmark of most India-Pakistan matches in Sharjah – created an unpleasant atmosphere. India’s NKP Salve, then the president of the ACC, who had worked to build understanding between India and Pakistan, watched as the spectators bickered. “At one stage,” he said, “I thought it was creating unnecessary bitterness between the Pakistanis and the Indians.” India got off to a sure start, before Sandeep Patil and Sunil Gavaskar took India to 188, a run more than Sri Lanka conceded to Pakistan. Mohsin provided a rock-solid foundation to the run-chase, but Ravi Shastri and Roger Binny - and four run-outs - ended Pakistan’s innings at 134. India had won the first Asia Cup, and it would be four years till they played their next one.
1986
The tournament moved on to Sri Lanka, but the spark of hosting their first multi-nation series was missing. The previous year, India had toured Sri Lanka at a time when political tensions overshadowed the cricket, and inevitably, the problems spilled onto the field. Pressurised by politicians, the umpires made one questionable decision after another in favour of the home team during the second Test in Colombo, and Sri Lanka won a Test for the first time. The Indians left in a huff, but not before a frustrated Kapil Dev indignantly declared, “Sri Lanka will never win a Test match abroad.” So with political and sporting relations not too cheery, India pulled out of the second Asia Cup. New Zealand were brought in at the last minute, and an alternative tournament was hastily arranged to accommodate them. So, in April 1986, you had the spectacle of Sri Lanka starting one tournament on the 5th, and playing the final of another on the 6th.
In the middle of this logistical nightmare, Sri Lanka ran all over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, as Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga scored fifties after a nervous start to their run-chase. They reached the target of 192 with five wickets and three overs remaining. It was a disappointing end for Pakistan, who were firm tournament favourites a week before. In their opening match they scored only 197, but still managed to beat Sri Lanka by 81 runs, as five of the top six scored next to nothing.
Shrugging off the fatigue, Wasim Akram went on the rampage the next morning, and Bangladesh lasted only 35 overs on their first outing in international cricket. Almost needlessly, Pakistan made heavy weather getting to 98. Bangladesh survived for the full 45 overs in their next game, putting up a respectable score. Sri Lanka eventually overwhelmed them by seven wickets and, at a time when batsmen were given match awards for scoring forties, Asanka Gurusinha was named Man of the Match. As for the tournament involving New Zealand, Pakistan won it on run rate.
1988
Pakistan and India were smarting from their defeats in the previous year’s World Cup, but had done enough since then - You could argue that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh hadn’t done much at all - to become favourites for the final of the third Asia Cup. Bangladesh, the hosts, had last played in 1986, while Sri Lanka came into the series with seven straight losses. Ultimately though, India did reach the finals, but they weren’t the favourites. Far from it. Led by Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka swept through the preliminary round, inflicting heavy defeats on Pakistan and Bangladesh, and coming up trumps against India after scoring 271 in 45 overs, an innings where de Silva and Ranatunga flung their bats at everything Narendra Hirwani and Mohinder Amarnath tossed up. India’s rapid start was frittered away, and they lost only narrowly. The supreme manner in which Sri Lanka stormed through the series revealed a growing realisation of their own ability.
Elsewhere that day, Pakistan ransacked Bangladesh. Boosted by Ijaz Ahmed’s unbeaten century – at a strike rate of 142 – Pakistan ran up a massive score. As good as out of the tournament by now, Bangladesh pottered around for their entire innings, and lost by 173 runs. They lost their last match, against Sri Lanka, by the same margin as their first: nine wickets. It all meant that Pakistan had to play India for a place in the final.
When Pakistan put on 62 for the first wicket, India’s decision to field first seemed unwise. Then, out of nowhere, Arshad Ayub struck with five wickets to send Pakistan tumbling. But restricting the score, as India soon found out, was a job only half done. With 70-odd runs on the board, they were certain favourites to overhaul Pakistan’s 142. Just then, Abdul Qadir claimed Srikkanth and Dilip Vengsarkar, and later added Kapil Dev to his hit list. Wasim grabbed two and, suddenly, India were 116 with six wickets down. Amarnath killed the suspense with a storm-weathering 74.
Boosted by the victory, a more resolved India turned up in the final. Sri Lanka stuttered and sputtered to 176, and Navjot Sidhu (76) and a round 50 by Vengsarkar took India to 180, and their second cup victory in three tournaments.
1990-91
As the fourth edition of the Asia Cup kicked off in India, the sombre mood prevalent had yet to dissolve. Once again, violence and differences disrupted the tournament and this time it was Pakistan who were not playing. But while India, as a country, was affected outside the ground, their performance against Bangladesh followed a familiar trend: bowl first, restrict score, knock off runs. India waltzed past the paltry target. Sri Lanka, though, were a different matter. Minor contributions from the top five, climaxing with Ranatunga’s fifty, meant India had to chase a smallish target of 215. They never got there, for the bowlers achieved constant breakthroughs and allowed no-one to settle. The assuredness of the previous game deserted India, and they fell behind by 36 runs.
Yet again, Sri Lanka had the upper hand going into the final. But there was the small matter of getting past Bangladesh first. It was indeed a small matter, as Bangladesh lost by yet another large margin after de Silva – at his bloodthirsty best – crunched 89 off 60 balls.
However, Sri Lanka’s traumatic run in finals against India continued at Eden Gardens after they scored 204, with Kapil running through the lower-middle order. India’s ability to chase low Sri Lankan totals had been questioned, but Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Azharuddin led the charge to victory. India’s hold over the Asia Cup continued.