5 biggest wins by balls left in the history of Asia Cup ft. India

Asia Cup is a major tournament organized by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). It is played in both ODI and T20I format. The first edition of the tournament was held in 1984, which was won by India.

India are the most successful team in the competition's history, winning seven titles - six (ODI) and one (T20I), while Sri Lanka and Pakistan have won it six and two times, respectively.

This piece looks at the five most dominant wins in history of the tournament by the number of balls left.

#1 Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup 2008 - 182 balls

Hosts Pakistan lost the toss and were asked to field first against Bangladesh at the National Stadium, Karachi, in the 2008 Asia Cup. Bangladesh had a decent start - they were 47/1 in 9.5 overs. However, a terrific display of bowling meant they collapsed for just 115 runs in 38.2 overs.

It was a collective effort for Pakistan as Abdur Rauf picked up three wickets, with Iftikhar Anjum and Saeed Ajmal picking up two scalps each, while Sohail Tanvir and Shoaib Malik picked up one each. Tamim Iqbal was the top scorer (26 runs).

In response, the Pakistan openers wasted absolutely no time in chasing down the target. Salman Butt (56*) and Nasir Jamshed (52*) raced to the target in just 19.4 overs. None of the Bangladesh bowlers were effective enough to pick up a wicket, as the hosts registered a 10-wicket win on home soil.

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#2 India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 1984 - 170 balls

India won the toss and elected to field first at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Sri Lanka were new to international cricket at that point, and were led by Duleep Mendis. They scored just 96 runs in 41 overs, as Ranjan Madugalle top-scored with 38 off 76 deliveries.

Chetan Sharma and Madan Lal were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each. Manoj Prabhakar also took two scalps apiece, while Ravi Shastri took one wicket. The opening duo of Surinder Khanna and Ghulam Parkar chased it down in just 21.4 overs without the loss of any wickets.

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#3 India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup 1997 - 168 balls

India won the toss and elected to field first in this rain-affected encounter. Their bowling attack reduced their eastern neighbours to just 130/8 in 43 overs. Robin Singh returned with figures of 3/13 in nine overs, while the rest of the bowlers picked up a wicket each. Apart from Athar Ali Khan and Aminul Islam, none of the batters could cross 30 runs.

Sourav Ganguly played a terrific counter-attacking innings, scoring an unbeaten 73 off just 52 deliveries. He was ably supported by cameos from skipper Sachin Tendulkar (28) and Mohammad Azharuddin (23*), as they chased the target in just 15 overs, with 28 more remaining in the game.

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#4 Pakistan vs Hong Kong, Asia Cup 2018 - 158 balls

Hong Kong won the toss and elected to bat first in the group stage match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium against Pakistan. However, the decision proved to go against them, as they were all-out for just 116 in 37.1 overs. Left-arm pacer Usman Shinwari was the pick of the bowlers, returning with figures of 3/19 in eight overs.

They chased the target down in 23.4 overs, losing just two wickets. Imam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten half-century, while Fakhar Zaman (24) and Babar Azam (33) also chipped in with valuable contributions in the run-chase.

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#5 India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup 1995 - 133 balls

Bangladesh skipper Akram Khan won the toss and elected to bat first in this Asia Cup encounter at Sharjah. The Indian bowling unit performed as a unit, ensuring that they dismissed Bangladesh for 163 runs in 44.4 overs. Aminul Islam was the top-scorer with 30 off 53 balls.

In response, India chased it down quickly. Manoj Prabhakar (53* off 87 balls) and Sachin Tendulkar (48 off 30 balls) added 72 runs for the first wicket, after which Navjot Singh Sidhu also chipped in with a quick-fire half-century (56* off 51 balls). They won the match in 27.5 overs with nine wickets to spare. Prabhakar was awarded the Player of the Match for his all-round efforts (53 & 2/43).