The twelfth edition of The Asia Cup -- the battle for Asian supremacy -- is going to be held in Bangladesh from 25 February to 8 March 2014.
The inaugural session will kick off Tuesday at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium at Fatullah in Narayanganj, keeping aside all the uncertainty of hosting the Asia Cup in Bangladesh for security reasons.
In the first match, Pakistan will face the enthusiastic Sri Lanka.
This is the fourth time Bangladesh is hosting The Asia Cup, a high-profile tournament in Asia. Earlier, the tournament was held in 1988, 2000 and 2012.
The ACC Asia Cup is an international men’s One Day International cricket tournament which was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countries.
The first edition of the Asia Cup was held in 1984 in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, the location of the headquarters of the newly formed Asian Cricket Council.
The first match was Pakistan versus the new ICC member Sri Lanka. It was a round-robin tournament participated by India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. India won this tournament with two victories.
Sri Lanka was the host for the second edition, in 1986; this was the first multi-national cricket series to be held there. Bangladesh was included for the first time. Sri Lanka won the cup in the final beating Pakistan.
The third edition, 1988, was held in Bangladesh, the first time that a multi-national cricket tournament was held there. In the final, India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and won their 2nd Asia Cup.
The fourth edition was held in India in 1990-91 where India retained its hold on the Cup defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
The fifth edition, in 1995, took the series back to Sharjah after 11 years. For the third successive time in the Asia Cup, India defeated Sri Lanka in the final.
In 1997, host Sri Lanka beat India in the final of the sixth edition by 8 wickets to win its second Asia Cup and halt India’s three consecutive cup victories.
The seventh edition took place in Bangladesh for the second time in 2000. In the final, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and lifted the Asia Cup for the first time.
The eighth edition took place in Sri Lanka four years after the seventh edition in 2004. In the final, Sri Lanka defeated India by 25 runs to win the Asia Cup.
The ninth edition of the Asia Cup was held in Pakistan. Sri Lanka beat India in the final comfortably to equal India with four Asia Cup trophies.
The tenth edition was held in Sri Lanka, which hosted the Asia Cup for the fourth time in 2010. In the final, India beat Sri Lanka comfortably to become Asia Cup champions for a record fifth time.
The eleventh edition of Asia Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 11 to 22 March 2012. Pakistan won for the second time the Asia Cup.
In the twelfth edition, the tournament will have five teams with Afghanistan in it for the first time since its inception in 1984.