The cricketing fever is once again going to sweep over the entire Asian subcontinent as six teams are once again going to fight among themselves for the Asia Cup. The tournament is all set to begin on August 31 and will be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The six teams namely Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh have been divided into two groups.
India, Pakistan, and Nepal are in Group A while defending champions Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are in Group B. The top two teams from both groups will further progress to the Super 4 stage and the top two teams from the Super 4 will play the final. Defending champions Sri Lanka will once again pose a great threat to all the teams with ten out of the 14 matches in the tournament to be played in Sri Lanka.
The first-ever edition of the Asia Cup was held in 1984 in UAE and India became the first champions of the tournament by defeating Sri Lanka. There have been a total of 15 editions so far in the tournament and India are the most successful team having won the title six times while Sri Lanka is the second most successful team with five trophies to their name.
Speaking of the highest opening partnership in Asia Cup, the top spot in the ODI format is taken by Pakistan’s pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed who put on a massive 224-run stand against India in 2012. The second spot is taken by India’s famed opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who added 210 runs for the first wicket against Pakistan in 2018. Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara take the third spot with their 201-run stand against Bangladesh in the 2008 edition.
In T20Is the first spot is taken by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul who added 119 for the first wicket against Afghanistan in 2022. The game is famous for Virat Kohli’s much-awaited 71st international hundred. The second spot is taken by Dinesh Chandimal and Tillakaratne Dilshan who put on a 110-run opening stand against Pakistan in 2016. Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka take the third spot with their 97-run stand during Sri Lanka’s famous victory against India in 2022.
| Runs | Players involved | Opposition | Venue and Edition |
| 224 | Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed (Pakistan) | India | Mirpur, 2012 |
| 210 | Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma (India) | Pakistan | Dubai, 2018 |
| 201 | Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) | Bangladesh | Karachi, 2008 |
| 191* | Sanath Jayasuriya and Avishka Gunawardene (Sri Lanka) | Bangladesh | Colombo, 2004 |
| 174 | Anshuman Rath and Nizakat Khan (Hong Kong) | India | Dubai, 2018 |
| Runs | Players Involved | Opposition | Venue and Edition |
| 119 | Virat Kohli and KL Rahul (India) | Afghanistan | Dubai, 2022 |
| 110 | Dinesh Chandimal and Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) | Pakistan | Mirpur, 2016 |
| 97 | Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka) | India | Dubai, 2022 |
| 83 | Muhammed Kaleem and Rohan Mustafa (UAE) | Afghanistan | Fatullah, 2016 |
| 83 | Hazaratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) | Sri Lanka | Dubai, 2022 |
*Last updated on 23rd June 2023