Asia Cup 2000 - A retrospective

They were the better team on the day and were deserving winners overall. Winning all their four matches, there is little doubt that Pakistan deserved their maiden triumph in the Asia Cup.

Pakistan came to Dhaka after losing a very close Test match to the West Indies. They might have been match hardened by the tough tour but also must have been a bit tired. They started by crushing the weakest team in the Asia Cup, the hosts by a world record margin of 233 runs. The next day, Pakistan defeated India by a comfortable margin of 44 runs. Their winning streak continued when they beat Sri Lanka in what was a dress rehearsal to the final by seven wickets even after resting three key players. Even though they reached the target with less than two overs to spare, they always had the match in control.

Pakistan's victories were due to various factors. Moin Khan's captaincy, Wasim Akram's experience, Razzaq's bowling (nine wickets in three matches) and Yousuf Youhana's blistering form with the bat. The new star had scores of 80, 100*, 90* and 25. One must also not forget he explosive batting of young Imran Nazir at the top and his brilliant fielding.

The Sri Lankans had two easy outings before they lost to Pakistan in the league game. They went down chiefly because their big guns did not deliver. Aravinda De Silva contributed a valuable knock against Bangladesh and in the game against India, Jayasuriya came good with a century. But for Atapattu, all others failed against Pakistan. Throughout the series, Atapattu was consistent scoring 245 runs at an impressive average of 81.66. Youngsters Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana and Kaushalya Weeraratne also came up with some fine performances. The Sri Lankans failed to make it when it mattered most as they dropped many catches. The islanders were further pushed to the back foot as Vaas did not provide them with the initial breakthroughs, something which he usually does. Muralitharan showed that he could still be dangerous with his prodigious spin but he was not rewarded with many wickets.

India will surely want to forget this Asia Cup as they were comprehensively beaten by both Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja helped themselves to half centuries against Sri Lanka and Pakistan respectively, but could not maintain consistency. India could only win against Bangladesh, thanks to a spectacular batting display by skipper Ganguly. This followed a shabby show from the bowlers. The main reason for the Indians' early exit from the tournament was the inexperienced bowling. The bowlers gave away 249 runs to Bangladesh, a huge total for a team still eyeing for Test status. The highly acclaimed Indian batting line up also proved to be brittle.

Bangladesh lost all the three matches they played. Their performance against Sri Lanka was along expected lines. Their skipper promised a better showing in the remaining matches and they lived upto this against the Indians. After their splendid display against the Indians, much was expected from them against Pakistan, but they failed miserably.

One of the reasons for Pakistan's victory can be attributed to experimenting with young blood which paid off in the end. On the whole, it was a delightful tournament on wickets which were a paradise for batsmen. The weather played truant in the initial stages but did not cause any great interference thereafter.