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The 2022 Asia Cup is set to kick off in the United Arab Emirates, with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in the tournament opener on Saturday, August 27. This edition of the competition will be played in the T20I format, with the last 20-over Asia Cup tourney held back in 2016.
India, on the other hand, will start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, August 28 in Dubai. The Men in Blue have been the most successful team in the history of the tournament with a record seven Asia Cup titles to their name. A large of their success has come on the back of some exceptional bowling performances.
In this article, we take a look at India’s five best bowling moments in the history of the tournament.
#5 Piyush Chawla 4/23 vs Hong Kong, 2008
Piyush Chawla returned his best-ever ODI numbers in the 2008 Asia Cup encounter against Hong Kong. The leg-spinner picked up four wickets while giving away just 23 runs in his quota of 10 overs to help India register a massive 256-run win.
India captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. He led from the front, scoring a 96-ball 109. He was ably helped by Suresh Raina, who slammed 101 runs in just 68 deliveries to power India to 374 in 50 overs.
In reply, Hong Kong could only muster 118 runs as they were ripped apart by Chawla, who was the top wicket-taker for his side in the encounter.
#4 Hardik Pandya 3/8 vs Pakistan, 2016
In a low-scoring T20I encounter in the 2016 edition of the tournament, Pandya gave away just eight runs in 3.3 overs while picking up three wickets to restrict Pakistan to just 83 runs.
The all-rounder bagged the all-important wicket of Shoaib Malik and then helped clean up the tail by removing both Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Amir on consecutive deliveries in the 18th over.
India suffered a stuttering start to their chase as Amir dismissed openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane in the first over. However, Virat Kohli’s patient 51-ball-49 saw India through eventually.
#3 Virender Sehwag 4/6 vs Bangladesh, 2010
A surprise inclusion on this list, Virender Sehwag had a habit of delivering in multi-national tournaments with the ball. Bangladesh were on the receiving end of his off-breaks as the swashbuckling opener picked up four wickets and gave away just six runs in this Asia Cup encounter.
Bangladesh chose to bat first in the match at Dambulla and were inching towards a decent total. They were 160/5 at one point but Sehwag dismissed the well-set Mushfiqur Rahim (30 off 55) to trigger a collapse.
The Tigers lost the rest of their wickets within seven runs, with Sehwag taking three of them. They managed just 167 runs and India chased down the total with ease in the 31st over, winning by six wickets.
#2 Venkatesh Prasad 4/17 vs Pakistan, 1997
In this high-octane, rain-marred Asia Cup 1997 encounter against Pakistan, pacer Venkatesh Prasad ran through the batting line-up of India’s arch-rivals after India had elected to field first.
Pakistan were tied down to 30 for the loss of five wickets, with Prasad picking up four of them. Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saleem Malik, all lost their wickets to the Indian fast bowler.
However, rain played spoil-sport in the match at Colombo and no further play was possible. One could only imagine how things would have turned out had the encounter played out in the full.
#1 Arshad Ayub 5/21 vs Pakistan, 1988 (India's best Asia Cup bowling performance)
India’s best Asia Cup bowling performance came back in the 1988 edition of the tournament. The Men in Blue were facing arch-rivals Pakistan in Dhaka in the third edition of the competition.
India captain Dilip Vengsarkar chose to field first and his decision paid off as off-spinner Arshad Ayub dismissed the entire Pakistan line-up for just 142 runs, returning his best ODI figures of 5/21.
He provided a much-needed breakthrough by removing set opener Ramiz Raja after Pakistan had already put up 62 runs on the board. Ayub then ran through the middle order, restricting them to just 142 runs.
In reply, India chased down the total in the 41st over, with Mohinder Amarnath top-scoring with 74 runs. Ayub was named the Player of the Match for his bowling heroics.
