ODI Asia Cup: 5 Unforgettable Nail-Biting Matches
While there have been several neck-to-neck games in the Asia Cup, we list out the top five thrillers in the ODI Asia Cup history.
It’s 2010, it’s Asia Cup, and it’s the big stage with the big players. And it’s India vs Pakistan. The stage was set. Dambulla in Sri Lanka was the venue and everyone’s blood pressure was rising. MS Dhoni was captaining India and Shahid Afridi captained Pakistan. The last time these two teams met in Asia Cup was in 2008 and both teams shared one victory each. Both teams had experienced players and it was down to who can hold their nerve the best.
Pakistan batted first and made 267 all out. Major contributors were Salman Butt (74) and Kamran Akmal (51). Zaheer Khan (2-41) and Harbhajan Singh (2-47) showed their experience and delivered for India while Praveen Kumar took the most wickets (3-53). This cliff-hanger reached halfway and had all the ingredients for a classic. India began their chase and lost two early wickets before Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni relived their ‘India A days’ and stitched a brilliant partnership. Dhoni (56) and Gambhir (83) eventually got out and left it to the lower-order batters to finish the game.
It was down to the last over. It was a battle between the Indian batters and Mohammed Amir, who would hold their nerve. India needed seven runs to win, while Pakistan needed 4 wickets. There was pressure and Harbhajan and Shoaib were locked in a heated conversation which added to the pressure. Raina got run out, but Harbhajan wasn’t fazed. It came down to 3 runs from the final 2 balls. The ball was bowled perfectly on a length and Harbhajan swivelled slightly to make room and swung across to finish the game in style with a massive six, to deep square leg as India clinched a win. India went on to win this Asia Cup which kicked off the process for them to eventually win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
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