Whether played over 50 or 20 overs, the biggest attraction of this tournament has always been the high-octane Indo-Pak rivalry. A look at five memorable battles...
KHANNA THE SURPRISE HERO (SHARJAH, 1984)
A top-class Pakistan team was tipped to beat India when the inaugural Asia Cup took place in April, 1984. But a fine knock by wicketkeeper-batsman Surinder Khanna (56 off 72 balls) helped India get to 188-4 in 46 overs on a difficult wicket. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri then helped bowl Pakistan out for just 134 in 39.4 overs. Khanna effected two stumpings too.
Scores: Ind 188-4 in 46 overs (Surinder Khanna 56, Sandeep Patil 43, Sunil Gavaskar 36*) beat Pak 134 in 39. 4 overs (Mohsin Khan 35; Roger Binny 3-33, Ravi Shastri 3-40) by 54 runs
BHAJJI'S SPECIAL SIXER (DAMBULLA, 2010)
Electing to bat first, Pakistan made 267, with Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal scoring fifties. A fine 83-run knock by Gautam Gambhir and his 108-run third-wicket stand with skipper MS Dhoni took India closer to the target but in the end, India still needed 7 off the last over from Mohammed Amir. The scales tilted in Pakistan's favour when Suresh Raina was run out by Kamran Akmal. India needed 3 off the last 2 when Harbhajan Singh smoked Amir for a huge six!
Scores: Pak 267 in 49. 3 overs (Salman Butt 74, Kamran Akmal 51, Praveen Kumar 3-53) lost to Ind 271-7 in 49. 5 overs (Gautam Gambhir 83, MS Dhoni 56) by 3 wickets
KING KOHLI ROARS (MIRPUR, 2012)
Nasir Jamshed (122) and Mohammed Hafeez (105) slammed centuries as Pakistan put 329-6. But Kohli asserted his rise as a champion batsman, cracking a monumental 183 off 148 balls, his highest ODI score, to take India to a comfortable six-wicket win.
Scores: Pak 329-6 in 50 overs (Nasir Jamshed 112, Mohammad Hafeez 105) lost to Ind 330-4 in 47. 5 overs (Virat Kohli 183, Rohit Sharma 68, Sachin Tendulkar 52) by 6 wickets
'BOOM BOOM' HURTS INDIA (MIRPUR, 2014)
Riding on fifties by Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja, India made 245-8 in 50 overs before Pakistan slipped to 236/9 in 49.1 overs. However, needing 12 off the last 2 balls with the last pair standing, Shahid 'Boom Boom' Afridi unleashed his magic, smashing star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for two consecutive sixes to break the hearts of Indian fans.
Scores: Ind 245-8 (Ambati Rayudu 58, Rohit Sharma 56, Ravindra Jadeja 52) lost to Pak 249-9 in 49. 4 overs (Mohammed Hafeez 75, Shahid Afridi 34*) by 1 wicket
PANDYA, KOHLI SIZZLE (MIRPUR, FEB 2016)
Pakistan's batting completely imploded in this game, as they were shot out for merely 83 in the 18th over. The wrecker-in-chief was a young Hardik Pandya, who took 3-8 in 3.3 overs. A magnificent Mohammad Amir then raised visions of an improbable victory for Pakistan when he trapped India's openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane for ducks in the first over. But in came Kohli, who promptly smashed a 51-ball 49 to take India home.
Scores: Pak 83 in 17. 3 overs (Hardik Pandya 3-8) lost to India 85-5 in 15. 3 overs (Virat Kohli 49; Mohamed Amir 3-18) by 5 wickets
