Highs and Lows of the men’s T20 Asia Cup
The first men’s Asia Cup cricket tournament was played in April 1984 in Sharjah, UAE. Since then, cricket fans have enjoyed 16 exciting editions of this tournament. Fourteen of these were played in the ODI format, while the 2016 and 2022 editions were in the T20 format, building excitement for the upcoming T20 World Cups.
With the 2026 T20 World Cup just around the corner in India, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) decided to shake things up and switch from the usual 50-over format to the faster-paced T20. The 2016 men’s Asia Cup, held between February 19 and March 6 in Bangladesh, brought together eight talented teams across 17 matches played in Fatullah and Mirpur. The qualifying round saw the UAE, Afghanistan, Oman, and Hong Kong battling it out for a spot in the main event. The UAE came out on top to join India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in the main tournament. The competition was fierce, but it was India which triumphed, defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets with seven balls to spare in a thrilling final in Mirpur. Shikhar Dhawan was named the player of the final for his impressive 60-run contribution — the only fifty-plus score in the match.
As the cricket world buzzed with anticipation for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, the Asia Cup returned to thrill fans once more. From August 20 to September 11, 2022, the tournament featured 19 action-packed T20 matches, spread across Al Amerat in Oman, as well as Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE. The qualifying round was filled with excitement, as Hong Kong, Kuwait, the UAE, and Singapore all vied for a coveted spot. Hong Kong emerged as the top contender and joined the main event. In a memorable final in Dubai, Sri Lanka shone brightly, defeating Pakistan by 23 runs. Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s unbeaten 71 made him the Player of the final, the perfect ending to a fantastic tournament.
An overview of the performance of teams and players during the first two Asia Cup T20 tournaments.
Match result summary of the eight participating sides in 2025
|
Team |
Period |
M |
W |
L |
Win% |
Titles won |
Runner-up |
|
India |
2016-2022 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
80.00 |
1 |
— |
|
Sri Lanka |
2016-2022 |
10 |
6 |
4 |
60.00 |
1 |
— |
|
Afghanistan |
2016-2022 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
50.00 |
— |
— |
|
Pakistan |
2016-2022 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
50.00 |
— |
1 |
|
Bangladesh |
2016-2022 |
7 |
3 |
4 |
42.86 |
— |
1 |
|
UAE |
2016-2022 |
10 |
4 |
6 |
40.00 |
— |
— |
|
Hong Kong |
2016-2022 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
37.50 |
— |
— |
|
Oman |
2022- |
3 |
1 |
2 |
33.33 |
— |
— |
Note:Kuwait (won 2, lost 1) and Singapore (lost all three) are the other sides to participate in the tournament in 2022.
Title Winners
|
No |
Period |
Host |
Result in the final |
Result |
Venue |
Player of the tournament |
|
1 |
Feb-Mar 2016 |
Bangladesh |
India beat Bangladesh |
by 8 wkts (7 balls to spare) |
Mirpur |
Sabbir Rahman (Ban) |
|
2 |
Aug-Sep 2022 |
Oman/UAE |
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan |
by 23 runs |
Dubai |
Wanindu Hasaranga (SL) |
Highest totals
|
Total |
(ov) |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
212/2 |
(20) |
India |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
8 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
193/2 |
(20) |
Pakistan |
Hong Kong |
Sharjah |
2 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
192/2 |
(20) |
India |
Hong Kong |
Dubai |
31 Aug 2022 |
Won |
Highest totals batting second
|
Total |
(ov) |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
184/8 |
(19.2) |
Sri Lanka |
Bangladesh (183/7) |
Dubai |
1 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
182/5 |
(19.5) |
Pakistan |
India (181/7) |
Dubai |
4 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
179/6 |
(19.1) |
Sri Lanka |
Afghanistan (175/6) |
Sharjah |
3 Sep 2022 |
Won |
Highest match aggregates
|
Total |
(ov) |
Team1 |
Team2 |
Venue |
Date |
Won by |
|
367/15 |
(39.2) |
Bangladesh (183/7) |
Sri Lanka (184/8) |
Dubai |
1 Sep 2022 |
Sri Lanka |
|
363/12 |
(39.5) |
India (181/7) |
Pakistan(182/5) |
Dubai |
4 Sep 2022 |
Pakistan |
|
355/12 |
(40.0) |
Oman (180/5) |
Hong Kong (175/7) |
Fatullah |
19 Feb 2016 |
Oman |
Lowest totals
|
Total |
(ov) |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
38/10 |
(10.4) |
Hong Kong |
Pakistan |
Sharjah |
2 Sep 2022 |
Lost |
|
81/9 |
(20) |
UAE |
India |
Mirpur |
3 Mar 2016 |
Lost |
|
82/10 |
(17.4) |
UAE |
Bangladesh |
Mirpur |
26 Feb 2016 |
Lost |
Lowest totals successfully defended
|
Total |
(ov) |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
129/8 |
(20) |
Sri Lanka |
UAE (115/9) |
Mirpur |
25 Feb 2016 |
won by 14 runs |
|
133/8 |
(20) |
Bangladesh |
UAE (82/10) |
Mirpur |
26 Feb 2016 |
won by 51 runs |
|
147/7 |
(20) |
Bangladesh |
Sri Lanka (124/8) |
Mirpur |
28 Feb 2016 |
won by 23 runs |
Big victories
|
By runs |
Winner |
Loser |
Venue |
Date |
|
155 |
Pakistan |
Hong Kong |
Sharah |
2 Sep 2022 |
|
101 |
India |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
8 Sep 2022 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By wickets |
Winner |
Loser |
Venue |
Date |
|
9 |
India |
UAE |
Mirpur |
3 Mar 2016 |
Narrow victories
|
By runs |
Winner |
Loser |
Venue |
Date |
|
5 |
Oman |
Hong Kong |
Fatullah |
19 Feb 2016 |
|
8 |
Hong Kong |
Singapore |
Al Amerat |
8 Sep 2022 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By wickets |
Winner |
Loser |
Venue |
Date |
|
1 |
Kuwait |
UAE |
Al Amerat |
21 Aug 2022 |
|
1 |
Pakistan |
Afghanistan |
Sharjah |
7 Sep 2022 |
Highest individual scores
|
Runs |
(Balls) |
Batter |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
122* |
(61) |
Virat Kohli |
India |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
8 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
122 |
(60) |
Babar Hayat |
Hong Kong |
Oman |
Fatullah |
19 Feb 2016 |
Lost |
|
88 |
(61) |
Chirag Suri |
UAE |
Kuwait |
Al Amerat |
21 Aug 2022 |
Lost |
|
84 |
(45) |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz |
Afghanistan |
Sri Lanka |
Sharjah |
3 Sep 2022 |
Lost |
|
83 |
(55) |
Rohit Sharma |
India |
Bangladesh |
Mirpur |
24 Feb 2016 |
Won |
|
80 |
(54) |
Sabbir Rahman |
Bangladesh |
Sri Lanka |
Mirpur |
28 Feb 2016 |
Won |
Fastest knocks of 40 runs or more in a match
|
S/R |
Batter (for) |
Runs (balls) |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
261.54 |
Suryakumar Yadav (Ind) |
58* (26) |
Hong Kong |
Dubai |
31 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
252.94 |
Najibullah Zadran (Afg) |
43* (17) |
Bangladesh |
Sharjah |
30 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
222.22 |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afg) |
40 (18) |
Sri Lanka |
Dubai |
27 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
210.00 |
Mohd Nawaz (Pak) |
42 (20) |
India |
Dubai |
4 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
209.09 |
Mohd Usman (UAE) |
46 (22) |
Oman |
Mirpur |
22 Feb 2016 |
Won |
Note:Suryakumar Yadav (above) reached his 50 in 22 balls, the quickest by a batter in the Asia Cup. This was later equalled by Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz (84 in 45 balls) a few days later against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on 3 September 2022.
Leading run-getters during a career
|
Runs |
Batter |
For |
M |
Inn |
S/R |
Career Span |
|
429 |
Virat Kohli |
India |
10 |
9 |
132.00 |
2016-2022 |
|
332 |
Babar Hayat |
Hong Kong |
8 |
8 |
150.23 |
2016-2022 |
|
281 |
Mohd Rizwan |
Pakistan |
6 |
6 |
117.57 |
2022- |
|
271 |
Rohit Sharma |
India |
9 |
9 |
141.15 |
2016-2022 |
|
196 |
Ibrahim Zadran |
Afghanistan |
5 |
5 |
104.26 |
2022- |
|
191 |
Bhanuka Rajapaksa |
Sri Lanka |
6 |
6 |
149.22 |
2022- |
Highest career batting strike-rates (min 150 runs)
|
S/R |
Batter (for) |
M |
Inn |
Runs |
Ave. |
Balls |
|
163.44 |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afg) |
5 |
5 |
152 |
30.40 |
93 |
|
157.14 |
Najibullah Zadran (Afg) |
8 |
8 |
176 |
35.20 |
112 |
|
156.57 |
Kusal Mendis (SL) |
6 |
6 |
155 |
25.83 |
99 |
|
150.23 |
Babar Hayat (HK) |
8 |
8 |
332 |
55.33 |
221 |
Best bowling performance in a match
|
Bowl |
(ov) |
Bowler |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
5/4 |
(4.0) |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
India |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
8 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
4/8 |
(2.4) |
Shadab Khan |
Pakistan |
Hong Kong |
Sharjah |
2 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
4/17 |
(4.0) |
Mohd Nabi |
Afghanistan |
Hong Kong |
Mirpur |
22 Feb 2016 |
Won |
|
4/22 |
(4.0) |
Yasin Patel |
Kuwait |
Singapore |
Al Amerat |
24 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
4/24 |
(4.0) |
Ehsan Khan |
Hong Kong |
UAE |
Al Amerat |
24 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
4/26 |
(4.0) |
Lasith Malinga |
Sri Lanka |
UAE |
Mirpur |
25 Feb 2016 |
Won |
|
4/26 |
(4.0) |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
India |
Pakistan |
Dubai |
28 Aug 2022 |
Won |
|
4/34 |
(4.0) |
Pramod Madushan |
Sri Lanka |
Pakistan |
Dubai |
11 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
4/36 |
(4.0) |
Aamer Kaleem |
Oman |
UAE |
Mirpur |
22 Feb 2016 |
Lost |
Note:Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler with two four-plus wicket hauls in the tournament
Most economical bowling in a match
|
R/O |
Bowler (for) |
Bowl (ov) |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
1.00 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Ind) |
5/4 (4) |
Afghanistan |
Dubai |
8 Sep 2022 |
Won |
|
1.50 |
Mohd Aamer (Pak) |
2/6 (4) |
UAE |
Mirpur |
29 Feb 2016 |
Won |
|
2.00 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Ind) |
2/8 (4) |
UAE |
Mirpur |
3 Mar 2016 |
Won |
Leading wicket-takers during a career
|
Wkts |
Bowler |
For |
M |
E/R |
Career Span |
|
13 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar |
India |
6 |
5.35 |
2016-2022 |
|
12 |
Amjad Javed |
UAE |
7 |
7.35 |
2016- |
|
11 |
Mohd Naveed |
UAE |
7 |
5.24 |
2016- |
|
11 |
Rashid Khan |
Afghanistan |
8 |
6.52 |
2016-2022 |
|
11 |
Ehsan Khan |
Hong Kong |
5 |
6.75 |
2022- |
|
11 |
Hardik Pandya |
India |
8 |
7.02 |
2016-2022 |
|
11 |
Al-Amin Hossain |
Bangladesh |
5 |
7.96 |
2016- |
Most economical (runs/over) career bowling (min 90 balls)
|
R/O |
Bowler (for) |
M |
Wkts |
Ave. |
Balls |
|
5.06 |
Mohd Aamer (Pak) |
4 |
7 |
11.57 |
96 |
|
5.22 |
Jasprit Bumrah (Ind) |
5 |
6 |
15.67 |
108 |
|
5.24 |
Mohd Naveed (UAE) |
7 |
11 |
13.18 |
166 |
|
5.35 |
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Ind) |
6 |
13 |
9.46 |
138 |
|
5.44 |
Mohd Irfan (Pak) |
4 |
5 |
17.40 |
96 |
All records are correct and updated until 8 September 2025.
