India vs Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2023 Final: Best performances in Asia Cup title clashes so far

Sri Lanka will be aiming to match Team India’s record of winning seven Asia Cup titles when the two sides take the field for the final face-off on Sunday. The Asia Cup 2023 final match between India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The two neighbouring nations have lined up against each other once in this edition so far and Rohit Sharma’s men had emerged victorious by 41 runs.

As India and Sri Lanka are all set to be involved in the summit clash tomorrow, here’s a look at some of the most scintillating Asia Cup finals that have taken place so far.

India vs Sri Lanka, 1988

Team India delivered a resounding performance against Sri Lanka in the 1988 Asia Cup final to clinch the trophy for the second time. Led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s sublime bowling performance, India managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 176. Srikkanth bagged three wickets in the 1988 Asia Cup final. Maninder Singh, Mohinder Amarnath and Kapil Dev picked up one wicket each in that game. During the run chase, Indian opening batter Navjot Sidhu came up with a blistering knock of 76 to earn an emphatic six-wicket win for his side. India, thanks to Sidhu’s power-packed batting, reached the target quite comfortably with 47 balls to spare.

India vs Sri Lanka, 2008

Sanath Jayasuriya’s destructive knock of 125 off 114 balls powered Sri Lanka to a fighting total of 273 against India in the Asia Cup final in 2008. Indian batting line-up made a meal of the run chase as they faltered while facing Sri Lankan bowling unit comprising big names like Ajantha Mendis, Muthiah Muralidaran and Chaminda Vaas. Sri Lanka’s unorthodox spinner Mendis scripted his best ODI figures in the tournament to earn a 100-run win for his side. Mendis scalped six wickets having conceded just 13 runs in eight overs.

Pakistan vs Bangladesh, 2012

Bangladesh cricket team were just one stroke away from clinching their maiden Asia Cup trophy in 2012. But, it was Pakistan who got the better of Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2012 final. With four runs needed off the last ball to win, Abdur Razzak kept his composure to seal the victory for Pakistan. Chasing a target of 237, Bangladesh fell short by just two runs.

India vs Bangladesh, 2018

It was once again Bangladesh who ended up on the losing side, quite unfortunately. Having to defend nine runs off 12 balls, Bangladesh had to suffer a three-wicket defeat in a last-ball thriller in Asia Cup 2018 final. India’s Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 23 to guide the Men in Blue to a remarkable Asia Cup triumph. Batting first, Bangladesh were bowled out for 222. India scored the winning runs on the final ball of the contest.