Bhubaneswar, Apr 13: India clinched the inaugural Asia Cup trophy on this day 40 years ago by defeating arch rival Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The inaugural Asia Cup was named the Rothmans Asia Cup and it was hosted in the UAE in 1984. The then three permanent ICC members from the Asia continent– India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament.

#OnThisDay in 1984, India won the first-ever Asia Cup in Sharjah 🏆

They beat Pakistan in the deciding game by 54 runs, topping the table with 8️⃣ points.

Sunil Gavaskar was the captain of the side. pic.twitter.com/WZ1AJHYV89
— ICC (@ICC) April 13, 2020

India, led by " Little Master" Sunil Gavaskar, exhibited their dominance throughout the tournament and clinched the title by winning both their matches. On this day, India got the better of Pakistan in the final match to clinch the inaugural Asia Cup trophy.

In the opening game of the inaugural Asia Cup, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by five wickets. In the next match, 1983 World Cup winner India thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets . The champions were to be decided in the last game where the arch-rivals– India and Pakistan- squared off against each other at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar won the toss and elected to bat first. The reigning World Cup champions posted 188 runs at the loss of four wickets in 46 overs.

For India, wicketkeeper-batsman Surinder Khanna top-scored 56 runs while Sandeep Patil made 43 runs, and Sunil Gavaskar scored 36 runs and remained unbeaten. Ghulam Parkar and Dilip Vengsarkar scored 22 runs and 14 runs respectively.

Pakistani bowlers Sarfraz Nawaz, Shahid Mahboob and Mudassar Nazar shared one wicket each.

Also Read: Jay Shah Congratulates Inaugural 1984 Asia Cup Winner Team India

Chasing the victory target of 189, Pakistan were bowled out at 134. Mohsin Khan was the leading run-scorer with 35 runs followed by Zaheer Abbas (27), Mudassar Nazar (18), Qasim Umar (16), Saleem Malik (15) and Saadat Ali (13).

Indian bowlers- Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri picked up three wickets each.

Surinder Khanna was adjudged the Player of the Tournament award for his 107 runs in the tournament.

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