On This Day in 1984: India Beat Pakistan to Win Inaugural Asia Cup

The Indian cricket emerged as a force to reckon with having lifted their maiden World Cup title in 1983. With the Asian Cricket Conference deciding to organise a tournament featuring three permanent ICC members of the continent– India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka- the 1983 World Cup winners got another chance to establish their supremacy in the continental event as well.

The competition was named the Rothmans Asia Cup and it was hosted in the United Arab Emirates for the first time in 1984.

Under the captaincy of Sunil Gavaskar, India exhibited their dominance throughout the campaign and claimed 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.

The opening game of the inaugural Asia Cup saw Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by five wickets. In the next fixture, India were up against Sri Lanka and picked up a dominant ten-wicket victory. 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 captain Sunil Gavaskar won the toss and elected to bat first. The reigning World Cup champions lost the wicket of Ghulam Parkar early due to a mix-up. After the opener returned with 22 runs, Dilip Vengsarkar arrived at the crease and joined hands with Surinder Khanna. The duo managed to contribute 34 runs to the scoresheet before Shahid Mahboob dismissed Vengsarkar for 14.

Despite a collapse at the other end, Surinder Khanna scored a half-century. The Indian wicketkeeper scored 56 and his knock comprised three boundaries and two sixes.

Sandeep Patil also had a good outing but missed out on his half century by seven runs. Sunil Gavaskar chipped in with a 36-run cameo, which helped India reach 188 at the loss of four wickets in 46 overs.

Pakistan failed to make a positive start to the run chase and lost three wickets posting 70 on the board. Apart from Mohsin Khan’s 35, there was no notable contribution from the top order. Among other Pakistan batters, only captain Zaheer Abbas could breach the 25-run mark.

For India, Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri appeared to be in sublime form as they picked up three wickets each. Thanks to their dominant bowling, Pakistan were bundled out at 134.