The answer to how many times India won Asia Cup is seven across formats – the most among all teams.
The Asia Cup is a biennial cricket tournament hosted by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), where teams belonging to Asia come together to be crowned the champions of the continent. However, the tournament has largely featured only teams from the sub-content, where the sport is predominantly played. The Asia Cup was first played in 1984 and so far, 15 editions have been hosted.
The tournament was played in the ODI format from 1984 to 2014. In 2016, the first-ever T20I edition of Asia Cup was hosted in Bangladesh, just ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup which was to be played later that year. Since then, the Asia Cup alternated between ODI and T20I format, in accordance to the ICC calendar.
Also read: Most Runs in Asia Cup: An all-time list
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How many times India won Asia Cup overall?
India won the Asia Cup a record seven times, more than any other country in the sub-continent. Sri Lanka are second in the list with six titles to their credit. Both these sides won the two editions of the T20I version of Asia Cup as well, one time each.
How many times India won Asia Cup in ODI format?
India won the Asia Cup six times in the ODI format. Beginning from the first edition in 1984 to winning the championship under Rohit Sharma in 2018, they have been the most successful team even in the ODI format.
Four of these six triumphs in the 50-over format came before the turn of the century – in 1984, 1988, 1990 and 1995. India are also the only team in this tournament to have won the title three consecutive times – from 1988 to 1995. Post 2000, India won the ODI version of the tournament in 2010 and 2018.
1. Asia Cup 1984
The men in blue were first crowned champions in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1984, where only three teams participated – India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. India won both their matches against these teams and became the first-ever champions of the tournament.
2. Asia Cup 1988
This time, Asia Cup was played by four teams, with the addition of Bangladesh to the tournament, who were also the hosts. India won all three matches in the group stages, while Sri Lanka won two matches out of three and both these sides contested the final. A terrific spell of 3/12 from Kris Srikkanth and a blazing half-century from Navjot Singh Sidhu helped them win the match by six wickets.
3. Asia Cup 1990
Due to political reasons, Pakistan pulled out of the 1990 edition and the Asia Cup once again reverted to being a three-team tournament. Once again, Sri Lanka and India played the final and the team led by Mohammad Azharuddin were too dominant on the day. Kapil Dev picked up a hat-trick in the final to restrict Sri Lanka to 204/9 batting first and Sanjay Manjrekar smashed a half-century in the run chase as India won by seven wickets.
4. Asia Cup 1995
India lost a match in Asia Cup for the first time in 1995, when Pakistan defeated them in the group stages. However, Azharuddin’s team went on to feature in the final against Sri Lanka and won the match comfortably by eight wickets. Skipper Azharuddin led the run chase by example, smashing 90 off 121 balls as they reached the 231-run target in 41.5 overs.
5. Asia Cup 2010
India lost their dominance in the tournament and didn’t win it for the next 15 years, before breaking that streak in 2010. Despite losing to defending champions Sri Lanka in the group stages, the men in blue got their vengeance in the final. The MS Dhoni-led team scored 268/6 batting first courtesy of a half-century from Dinesh Karthik. Ashish Nehra (4/40) starred with the ball in the second innings as the Islanders were bowled out for only 187 runs.
6. Asia Cup 2018
Rohit Sharma led India’s charge in Asia Cup 2018. Six teams featured in the tournament separated into two groups, before four teams made it to the Super Four stages. Barring the one match against Afghanistan which ended in a tie, the men in blue were dominant throughout the tournament and won it convincingly. In the final, they had a tight outing against Bangladesh, with the match going down to the final ball, but India chased down the 233-run target successfully courtesy of a half-century by skipper Rohit.
How many times India won Asia Cup in T20I format?
India also won the inaugural T20I edition of the Asia Cup in 2016, where they played Bangladesh in a rain-marred final. Chasing 121 runs to win, India got there with seven balls to spare courtesy of a half-century from Shikhar Dhawan. The tournament was played in the T20I format once again in 2022, where Sri Lanka emerged victorious by beating Pakistan in the final. However, India were knocked out in the Super Four stage.
