5 trophies India will always thank MS Dhoni for

2010 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka

Another trophy in the bag – the Asia Cup

The Asia Cup is a matter of pride for the sub-continental teams. India and Sri Lanka have both won it five times, Pakistan winning it twice. This will go down as one of Dhoni’s more memorable tournament wins for two reasons – after the World Cup and Champions Trophy, this is the most prestigious ODI tournament for the sub-continental teams. Secondly, prior to 2010, India had last won the Asia Cup way back in 1995 – a hat-trick winning in 1988 and 1990/91 as well.

It was 15 years before India won the trophy again with Sri Lanka winning it thrice and Pakistan once. All three of Sri Lanka’s wins came against India, the runners-up each time, making matters worse. India avenged it eventually by beating Sri Lanka in the final in their own den at Dambulla, despite having lost to the latter in the league stage.

India would also go on to win the Asia Cup in 2016 in the T20I format, its first edition, under Dhoni (Dhoni even gave the finishing touch with a 6-ball 20* in the final against Bangladesh in the end, to show who is the boss) establishing itself as Asia’s most successful short-format team.