The Sri Lankan team will be looking forward to clinch the Asia Cup 2012, after playing scintillating cricket in Australia and make their tally to five.
The Lankan Lions have snatched the distinguished title four times and keeping in view their performance during the recently concluded Commonwealth Bank tri-series, they have a real chance of grabbing the Asia Cup 2012.
The highlights of their previous four titles along with their performance in the finals are being described in the article.
1986 (second edition) Captains, Sri Lanka, Duleep Mendis, Pakistan, Imran Khan
The event was held in Sri Lanka from March 30 until April 6, 1986, Pakistan and India were the other two participating teams as the tournament was played on the round-robin basis.
The final was held between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on April 6, 1986 at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.
Scores
Pakistan 191 for the loss of nine wickets (Javed Miandad 67, Mnazoor Elahi 37, Kaushik Amaleen 4-46).
Sri Lanka 195 for five wickets (Arjuna Ranatunga 57, Arvinda De Silva 52, Abdul Qadir 3-32)
Player of the match – Javed Miandad
Result – Sri Lanka won by five wickets.
1997 (6th edition) Captains – Sri Lanka Arjuna Ranatunga, India , Sachin Tendulkar.
The tournament was staged in Sri Lanka from July 14 to 26, 1997, the hosts, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were the participants. The final was played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on July 26.
Scores
India 239 for seven wickets in 50 overs (Mohammad Azharuddin 81, Tendulkar 53, Chaminda Vaas and Kumar Dharmasena two wickets each).
Sri Lanka 240 for two wickets (Marvan Atapattu unbeaten 84, Sanath Jayasuriya 63, Ranatunga unbeaten 62).
Player of the match – Marvan Atapattu
Result – Sri Lanka won by eight wickets.
2004 (8th edition) Captains, Sri Lanka, Marvan Atapattu, India, Sourav Ganguly
Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates took part in the event.
The final was played between Sri Lanka and India at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on August 1, 2004.
Scores
Sri Lanka 228 for 9 wickets in 50 overs (Atapattu 65, Kumar Sangakkara 53, Irfan Pathan and Tendulkar held two wickets each).
India 203 for 9 wickets (Sachin Tendulkar 74, Zaheer Khan unbeaten 28, Upul Chandana 3-33).
Player of the match – Marvan Atapattu
Result – Sri Lanka won by 25 runs.
2008 (9th edition) Captains – Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara, India MS Dhoni
The tournament was played from June 24, to July 6, 2008 which was hosted by Pakistan. Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and the hosts took part in the event.
The final was played between India and Sri Lanka on July 6, 2008 at National Stadium, Karachi.
Scores
Sri Lanka 273 all out in 49.5 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 125, Tillakaratne Dilshan 56, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma grabbed three wickets each).
India 173 all out in 39.3 overs (Virender Sehwag 60, MS Dhoni 49, Ajantha Mendis 6-13).
Player of the match – Ajantha Mendis
Result – Sri Lanka won by 100 runs.
The Sri Lankan team is enjoying great form and if they apply themselves well in the tournament, they can clinch the trophy for the fifth time.
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