April 13 will go down as one of the most prominent dates in Indian cricket as this was the day when Sunil Gavaskar-led India lifted the inaugural edition of Asia Cup in 1984. Only three teams (Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka) participated the tournament and India emerged victorious after finishing the tournament at the pinnacle of the points table. The last match was an Indo-Pak clash and stakes were very high in the contest. This Day, That Year: When MS Dhoni’s Sensational Knock Guided India to Win ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Trophy.

After winning the toss at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, India decided to have a bat. Opener Surinder Khanna scored a fighting half-century and got his side off to a steady start. However, the pitch was a spin-friendly track as the other Indian batsmen were not able to register significant scores. However, some end-over blitzes from Sandeep Patil and skipper Sunil Gavaskar guided India to 188/4 in the first innings.

ICC's Post:

The total wasn’t a mammoth one but the pitch didn’t look great to bat on. As a result, the Zaheer Abbas-led side lost wickets in regular intervals and never looked in the hunt. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri took three wickets apiece. Adding salt on wounds, four Pakistani batsmen were run out during the course of the innings. As a result, India won the match by 54 runs and became the winner of the inaugural edition of the tournament.

So far, 14 editions of Asia Cup have been observed. With seven titles, India have been the most successful side in the history of the tournament while Sri Lanka have five titles in their kitty. Pakistan have also won the title twice.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2020 11:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).