India have lifted the Asia Cup for a record-extending eighth time after defeating the defending champions Sri Lanka in the Finals of Asia Cup 2023, at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
- The 16th Edition of Asia Cup 2023 was Co-hosted by Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan for the 1st time from 30 August to 17 September 2023.
Highlights of Asia Cup 2023:
With eight titles (seven ODI and one T20I), India becomes the most successful team in the history of tournament. Where Sri Lanka is the second most successful team with six titles and Pakistan have won two.
- Indian Men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma lifted the Asia Cup trophy for the second time in his career to join Mohammad Azharuddin and MS Dhoni in an elite list.
- Azharuddin and Dhoni were the only two captains to have won the Asia Cup twice before Rohit. Azhar won the titles in 1991 and 1995 while Dhoni won in 2010 and 2016.
- Rohit had first won the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018, which was played in the Twenty20 International (T20I) format.
Awards & Prize Money:
i.Man of the Match (Final)- Mohammed Siraj
ii.Man of the Series- Kuldeep Yadav
iii.Most Runs- Shubman Gill (India) – 302 Runs
iv.Most Wickets- Matheesha Pathirana (Sri Lanka)- 11 Wickets
v.The tournament champions, Indian team received USD 1,50,000 as prize money.
Key Points:
i.A total of 6 nations participated in the tournament viz. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
ii.Nepal, made their Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup debut as it has qualified for the first time in qualifying the 2023 ACC Men’s Premier Cup, Nepal.
iii.India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have qualified to play the Super fours stage.
Records Made in Asia Cup 2023:
i.Virat Kohli hits a ton against Pakistan in Asia Cup to become the fastest batsman to score 13,000 One Day International (ODI) runs
- He achieved this extraordinary feat in just 267 innings, surpassing the previous record held by the Sachin Tendulkar, who took 321 innings to reach the same milestone.
- He is now just two centuries away from surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s other record of 49 ODI centuries, which stands as the highest number of centuries scored by any batsmen in One Day International cricket history.
ii.Skipper Rohit Sharma becomes sixth Indian batter to complete 10,000 ODI runs
- Rohit Sharma becomes the sixth Indian to enter the 10,000 ODI runs club after Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid.
- He is also the second-fastest to do so after former skipper and current teammate Virat Kohli.
iii.Ravindra Jadeja completes 200 ODI wickets
- Ravindra Jadeja became the 7th Indian bowler to touch the milestone of 200 one-day international.
iv.Kuldeep Yadav becomes fastest Indian spinner to reach 150 ODI wickets
- He becomes the fourth fastest spinner overall to reach 150 wickets in ODIs after Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan(78 matches), Rashid Khan of Afghanistan (80) and Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka(84).
- He also becomes the second fastest Indian bowler overall to have taken 150 wickets after pacer Mohammed Shami who achieved the milestone in 80 matches.
v.Shubman Gill becomes the first batter to score 1,000 ODI runs in 2023
- He reached this feat in his 17th innings.
- He is followed by UAE’s Asif Khan (934 runs), Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka (817), UAE’s Vrittya Aravind (792), UAE’s Muhammad Waseem (782), and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (745).
vi.Siraj becomes the first Indian bowler to bag four wickets in one over in one-day internationals.
- Siraj matched the record of former Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas for the fastest ODI five-wicket haul.
- Siraj became the second bowler in the Asia Cup 50-over format to take a 6-wicket haul after Mendis (Sri Lanka) bagged the figures of 6/13 against India in 2008.
vii.Sri Lanka’s batting score in the final ODI of Asia Cup 2023 was the record-lowest score by any team in an Asia Cup ODI final.
- It replaced the India’s score of 54 runs against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy, 2000.
viii.India’s win against the Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 was the biggest win for India in the ODI format.
ix.India extended the record for most wins by a team against a single opposition in ODIs with its 98th win over Sri Lanka.
About Asia Cup:
Inception Year– The Asia Cup cricket tournament commenced in 1984, in UAE (Winner – India).
Formats– Traditionally it’s been an ODI tournament, it has occasionally featured T20I matches, such as in 2016 & 2022.
- The format can differ from edition to edition.
Organizing Body- The Asian Cricket Council (ACC)
Asian Cricket Council President – Jay Shah
Time Duration- It was originally scheduled to be held every two years.
Most runs– ST Jayasuriya (1220 runs) (Sri Lanka)
Most wickets– M Muralidaran (30 wickets) (Sri Lanka)
Other Statistics- India, with eight titles (seven ODI and one T20I), is the most successful team in the tournament.
- Sri Lanka has played the most Asia Cups (16) followed by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (15 each).
