The Asia Cup is a tournament where teams from Asia compete. India has been the champion 8 times. Sri Lanka is second with 6 titles. India has been in 10 finals.
Since the Asia Cup started in 1984, we fans have seen some crazy cricket. Some batsmen have really gone big, hitting centuries in no time. Which is amazing in this tournament.
Shahid Afridi who used to captain Pakistan smashed the record for the fastest century in Asia Cup history. In 2010 he smashed Bangladesh in Dambulla. He took 53 balls to get to 100. He didn’t stop there, he ended up with 124 off 60 balls, 17 fours and 4 sixes. Pakistan scored 385/7 and won by 139 runs.
The 2008 Asia Cup was wild, two fast centuries. Sanath Jayasuriya from Sri Lanka got a century off 55 balls against Bangladesh in Karachi. Sri Lanka won by 158 runs, Jayasuriya scored 130 off 88 balls. In the same tournament Suresh Raina from India got a century off 66 balls against Hong Kong in Karachi. India won by 256 runs.
Afridi did it again in 2010 Asia Cup, he got a century off 68 balls against Sri Lanka in Dambulla. Pakistan lost by 16 runs but we gave him the Man of the Match because he scored 109 off 76 balls.
Going way back Jayasuriya had a super fast century against Bangladesh in Colombo in 1997, he took 72 balls. At that time it was the fastest in the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka won by 103 runs, he scored 108 off 83 balls.Let’s not forget the T20 format, the shorter and faster Asia Cup.
There is only one century in that format and that was by Virat Kohli who used to captain India. He did it against Afghanistan in 2022 in UAE. Kohli was on fire, he got to his century in 53 balls. He was not out with 122 off 61 balls and helped India win by 101 runs. So even in the fast T20 format some players can still have big and long innings.
Fastest Centuries in ODI Asia Cup
| Player | Against | Runs | Balls | Year | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shahid Afridi | Bangladesh | 100 | 53 | 2010 | Dambulla |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | Bangladesh | 100 | 55 | 2008 | Karachi |
| Suresh Raina | Hong Kong | 100 | 66 | 2008 | Karachi |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | Nepal | 100 | 67 | 2023 | Multan |
| Shahid Afridi | Sri Lanka | 100 | 68 | 2010 | Dambulla |
Fastest Centuries in T20I Asia Cup
| Player | Against | Runs | Balls | Year | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babar Hayat | Oman | 100 | 50 | 2016 | Fatullah |
| Virat Kohli | Afghanistan | 100 | 53 | 2022 | UAE |
