The greatest clash of Asian Cricket – The Asia Cup – is back for its 13th edition. The Asia Cup 2016 will be held in Bangladesh and this time, there is a change in the format too. Before this edition, Asia Cup was a 50-over tournament, but now it has been turned into a T20 tournament. Here is Umang Pabari’s statistical review of Asia Cup:
5 – Number of Times Sri Lanka and India have won Asia Cup title which is most by any other Asian team. They have won 5 times Asia Cup title from 12 Asia Cup tournaments while Pakistan have won 2 times Asia Cup title.
1220 – Number of Runs scored by Sanath Jayasuriya in Asia Cup while playing for Sri Lanka from 25 matches which is most by any other batsman in Asia Cup.
139 – Number of Fours hit by Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya in Asia Cup which is most by any other batsman in Asia Cup till now. He had hit 139 fours from 25 matches.
26 – Number of Sixes hit by Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi in Asia Cup which is most by any other batsman in Asia Cup till now. He has hit 26 sixes from 23 matches.
64.20 – Average at which Sri Lankan opener Marvan Atapattu had scored his 642 runs from 13 matches in Asia Cup which is highest among batsmen who have scored 600 or more runs in Asia Cup.
1272 – Number of Balls faced by Sri Lankan player Kumar Sangakkara in Asia Cup which is most by any other batsman in Asia Cup. He had scored 1075 runs by facing 1272 balls from 24 matches.
140.74 – Strike Rate at which Shahid Afridi has scored his 532 runs from 23 matches in Asia Cup while playing for Pakistan which is highest among batsmen who have scored minimum of 500 runs in Asia Cup.
183 – Number of Runs scored by India’s Virat Kohli against Pakistan at Dhaka on March 18, 2012 which is most by any player in an innings of a match in Asia Cup. In that match, he scored 183 runs from 148 balls by hitting 22 fours and one six.
6 – Number of Hundreds scored by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya in Asia Cup which is most by any other player in Asia Cup history. He had scored six hundreds from 25 matches.
8 – Number of Fifties scored by Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in Asia Cup which is most by any other player in Asia Cup history. He had scored eight fifties from 24 matches.
275.00 – Strike Rate at which Shahid Afridi had scored his 44 runs from 16 balls against Bangladesh at Dhaka on March 4, 2014 is the highest strike achieved by a batsman in an innings of a match in Asia Cup.
378 – Number of Runs scored by Sanath Jayasuriya in 2008’s Asia Cup from 5 matches is the most runs scored by a batsman in any edition of Asia Cup.
30 – Number of Wickets taken by Muttiah Muralitharan in Asia Cup from 24 matches which is most by any other bowler in Asia Cup history.
20 – Number of Maidens bowled by Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vass from 19 matches which is most by any other bowler in Asia Cup history. He had taken 23 wickets from 19 matches.
3 – Number of 5-fers taken by Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga in Asia Cup which is most by any other bowler in Asia Cup history. He has taken 24 wickets from 12 matches in Asia Cup.
230.2 – Number of Overs bowled by Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan which is most by any other bowler in Asia Cup. He had bowled 230.2 overs in 24 matches.
10.42 – Average at which Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis has taken 26 wickets from 8 matches in Asia Cup which is the best average of a bowler among bowlers who have taken minimum of 8 wickets in Asia Cup.
3.22 – Economy Rate at which Pakistani bowler Wasin Akram had taken his 16 wickets from 12 matches in Asia Cup which is the least economy rate of a bowler among bowlers who have taken minimum of 9 wickets in Asia Cup.
15.6 – Strike Rate at which Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis has taken his 26 wickets from 8 matches which is the best strike rate of a bowler among bowlers who have taken minimum of 8 wickets in Asia Cup.
17 – Number of Wickets taken by Ajantha Mendis in 2008’ Asia Cup from 5 matches which is most no. of wickets taken by any bowler in any edition of Asia Cup.
36 – Number of Dismissals claimed by Sri Lankan wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara from 24 matches in Asia Cup which most no. of dismissal claimed by any wicket-keeper in Asia Cup.
15 – Number of Catches taken by Sri Lankan player Mahela Jayawardena from 28 matches which is most by any fielder in Asia Cup history.
224 – Number of Runs added by Pakistani duo Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed for 1st wicket against India at Dhaka on March 18, 2014 which is most no. of runs added by any pair for any wicket in Asia Cup.
28 – Number of Matches played by Sri Lankan player Mahela Jayawardena in Asia Cup is the most no. of matches played by any player in Asia Cup.
By Umang Pabari
