India are the most successful team in the history of the Asia Cup. They have won the competition seven times. Six of those titles came in the ODI format while the most recent one, in 2016, came in T20.
The Indian cricket team has played in 13 of the 14 Asia Cups so far, having only missed the 1986 edition. From the 13 editions, India made it to the final 10 times.
Since playing their first-ever Asia Cup match, which came against Sri Lanka in 1984, the Indian cricket team has played the joint-most matches in the continental championship (54) along with the Lankans.
Of those 54 matches, 49 have been played in the ODI format while the remaining five came in T20s. Interestingly, while India have a 100 per cent win record in T20I (winning all of their five matches), their tally of 65.62 per cent is only bettered by Sri Lanka (68) in ODIs.
Over the years, India have played 49 matches in the Asia Cup in the ODI format, winning 31 and losing 16 times. One match ended without a winner while the other was tied.
In the T20 format, India have played five and have won all of them. Overall, they have won 36 of their 54 matches in the Asia Cup.
It is the most number of wins any team has managed in the Asia Cup across both formats. India’s closest competitors are Sri Lanka, who have won 35 matches, Pakistan (28) and Bangladesh (10).
As far as individual records are concerned, batting great Sachin Tendulkar is still India’s highest run-scorer in the Asia Cup. The batter aggregated 971 runs in the continental champions.
On the other hand, Irfan Pathan is India’s leading wicket-taker in the competition across both formats with 22 scalps. Meanwhile, India are also the record holders of the highest team total in T20I in the competition (excluding the qualifiers).
In February 2016, India rode on Rohit Sharma’s quickfire 83 runs to post 166/6.
India’s record in Asia Cup cricket
Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Tie | NR | Win % |
India | 54 | 36 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 66.67 |
Featured photo: AFP / Munir Uz Zaman