There are great games, there are pretty much straightforward contests and then, there are also last minute surprises or as they say, last ball thrillers in cricket. And so, there are upsets as well. And when
cricketing upsets happen especially in mega tournaments or series' such as an Asia Cup, as they have, then those contests become larger than life and quite frankly, are retold and remembered long after they have already happened. These games become legends.
Having said that, there have been some really critical and closely-fought games where one simply didn't expect the eventual outcome to have happened in the way it did, where it comes to the Asia Cup. And there have been specific games, as seen from the onset of 2012 that have stunned fans, ignited worldwide attention and stood the tests of time. Having said that all, which are three biggest upsets in Asia Cup history as the checkered Asian-teams-only tournament is all set to begin on a brand new note in 2025?
Here's a look at the List of three biggest upsets in Asia Cup history
3. Bangladesh beat Pakistan in 2016 edition of Asia Cup T20I tournament
In reply, Bangladesh chased down the runs with Somya Sarkar scoring 48 vital runs despite a middle order collapse around him and with Tamim, the team's best batter falling for a single-digit score. Bangladesh overcame Pakistan in the final over with five balls remaining.
2. Afghanistan topple Sri Lanka in 2022 in Asia Cup T20I contest
Three years ago, Afghanistan toppled Sri Lanka, of all teams, in an utterly engaging, highly nerve wracking and wonderfully executed game of T20 international where it came to the Asia Cup tournament.
Assisted enormously by a wonderful bowling spell by the often underrated Farooqi, Sri Lanka were really restricted, one would say, in scoring 105. And that's about that. Keep in mind that the team with such paltry total in a T20 contest had been firm favourites, having won the Asia Cup five times, prior to the 2022 edition.
But on that particular occasion, they were just not able to put bat to ball as how they'd have liked. Only three men entered double-digit scores, Rajapaksa making the most amount of runs; 39 of his team's 105. Where it came to chasing down what by then had become quite a comfortable ask, Afghanistan batted Sri Lanka out of the park and won the game by eight wickets chasing down the total in 10.1 overs. Zazai and Gurbaz took the team off to a flier, Afghanistan scoring 83 runs inside 7 overs. The rest was a walk in the park for the underrated team.
1. Bangladesh upset India in 2012 edition of Asia Cup ODI in Mirpur
A star studded and powerful looking Team India batted first with some big names in their ranks under Dhoni’s leadership, such as - Tendulkar, Gambhir, Raina, and a young Kohli. While the master of batting, Tendulkar fired a blazing 114, Virat Kohli struck a gritty 66. The likes of Shakib, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain, not always easy to score off from, tried to curtail India, with Bangladesh’s opponents putting together 289 on the board. Anyone watching the proceedings would have wondered if this was ever going to be chased down by Bangladesh for 290 is still, as it was then, a big ask.
However, driven by a total team work with Tamim Iqbal leading the charge of the run chase with a sublime 70, followed by Jahurul Islam’s 53, Nasir Hossain’s 54 kept the chase on track for Bangladesh. And finally, a brilliant and timely 31-ball-49 by Shakib Al Hasan supported by Mushfiqur playing a blinder with his 46 unbeaten runs coming off just 25 deliveries helped Bangladesh to chase down what had at the start of their innings, seemed an improbable ask. The target was chased in the very final over of the innings with Rahim at one end with accomplished bowlers like Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, and Jadeja going for aplenty.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQ):
Which was Afghanistan's most memorable win in the Asia Cup contests?
In 2022, Afghanistan toppled a much more confident and strong looking Sri Lankan side in which Farooqi's brilliant bowling spell caught the Lankans napping.
Which was the Asia Cup upset featuring Bangladesh overcoming India?
At an interesting and thrilling one dayer played at Mirpur in 2012, Bangladesh chased down 290 as set by India, on a day where a Tendulkar and Virat special had almost assured India a win, however, it wasn't to be.
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