Asia Cup: From Harbhajan's heroic six vs Pakistan to Mendis shocking India, top 5 moments

The Asia Cup is one of the most important and prestigious international limited-overs competitions outside the Cricket World Cup. The tournament features the premier teams from Asia and the inaugural edition took place back in 1984. There have been 15 editions so far and needless to say, this tournament has given plenty of memorable moments. We take a look at the most memorable moments from the 15 editions of the Asia Cup: Mendis magic shocks India In 2008, Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup, as India met Sri Lanka in the final. Sri Lanka batted first and set a target of 274 for India. During India’s chase, Sri Lanka’s latest mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis stepped up and shocked the Indian team with a superb spell of 6/13. Mendis dismissed Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, and RP Singh as India were bundled out for 173.

Harbhajan turns it on with the bat The fourth encounter of the 2010 Asia Cup saw arch-rivals India and Pakistan clash in Dambulla. This match saw more than one instance of tempers being flared. Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and Indian left-hander Gautam Gambhir engaged in a fiery duel and this continued deep into India’s chase. It was Harbhajan Singh’s heroic six off the penultimate delivery of the Indian innings against Mohammad Amir that sealed the deal for India.

Virat Kohli aces the chase The 2012 edition was hosted by Bangladesh. It was the fifth match between India and Pakistan. Chasing down 330, Virat Kohli stepped up and showed his class with an emphatic 183 as India chased down the target with ease. He was involved in two match-winning partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma as the mantle was well and truly passed on. This score remains Kohli’s highest ODI score.

Pakistan break Bangladesh’s hearts India were not able to make it to the 2012 final as hosts Bangladesh took on Pakistan. The final emerged as one of those cliffhangers where the momentum kept shifting. Pakistan stuttered as they were restricted to 237. However, their bowlers were not ready to give up and defended nine runs from six balls to clinch the title.

Afridi takes down Ashwin The Asia Cup of 2014 saw yet another classical India-Pakistan match. In the sixth match of the tournament, India set a target of 246 runs for Pakistan to chase. The match was very much in India’s control when Shahid Afridi decided to take matters up.

10 runs were needed off last six deliveries. It was then that Shahid Afridi launched two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin and gave India a heartbreak.