Ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2023 in India, Asia Cup will return with the one-day international (ODI) format. The continental tournament will be played from August 31 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In 2018, Asia Cup was played in the ODI format in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the tournament was won by India comfortably, beating Bangladesh in the final.
In the continental championship, India and Sri Lanka are the most successful teams, having tasted success by lifting the coveted trophy most times. Along with winning titles, the win percentages of these teams are also high in the tournament. However, unlike these champion teams, some sides have achieved the unwanted record of losing most games in the tournament.
Here are the five teams with the most defeats (loss %) in the Asia Cup
5. Hong Kong- 100%
In the 2004 Asia Cup, Asian teams such as Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) got a chance to compete with regular members such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Making their debut in the Asian championship, Hong Kong ended up at the bottom of Group A, losing their matches to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The next edition of the tournament was held in Pakistan in 2008, and this time, Hong Kong were placed in Group B along with India and Pakistan. In front of both cricketing giants, Hong Kong struggled to win and ended their journey in the group stage.
In the 2018 Asia Cup, Hong Kong returned to the fold, and this time again, they found themselves in front of India and Pakistan. Against the Men in Green, they faced an embarrassing eight-wicket loss, but in front of the Men in Blue, they got a narrow defeat of 26 runs. So far, they are the most unsuccessful team in the Asia Cup, with six out of six losses with a loss percentage of 100%.
4. United Arab Emirates (UAE) - 100%
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) journey is similar to that of Hong Kong. Like Hong Kong, the West Asian cricket nation also made their debut in 2004 and concluded their campaign without a victory. In their debut game in Dambulla, the UAE suffered a 116-run defeat at the hands of the Sourav Ganguly-led India.
In their next game, they lost to hosts Sri Lanka by 116 runs in the same venue. The 2008 Asia Cup was their last appearance in the ODI form of the tournament, and this time as well, they failed to open their victory account, with their humiliating losses against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Playing the opening game against Bangladesh in Lahore, UAE lost to Bangladesh by a huge margin of 96 runs. In the next game, Sri Lanka handed them a 131-run defeat. In their couple of Asia Cup editions, the UAE played four matches and lost all.
3. Bangladesh- 83.72%
Bangladesh are playing in the Asia Cup since 1986, and in the last 12 years, their triumph graph has soared. In the 2012 and 2018 installments of the tournament, Bangladesh became the runners-up losing to Pakistan and India, respectively. However, from 1986 to 2010, Bangladesh were one of the most ineffective sides in the tournament.
From 1986 to 2000, Bangla Tigers performed underwhelmingly and became the worst-performing side in all the championships. Making their debut in 1986, Bangladesh concluded their journey at the bottom of the table, losing to the other two participants, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Thus far, Bangladesh have played 43 ODIs in the continental championship, in which they won only seven and lost 36. Currently, Bangladesh are one of the most dangerous sides in the Asia Cup, but these numbers clearly display the Bangla Tigers’ struggle in the marquee Asian tournament.
2. Afghanistan- 55.55%
In 2014, the twelfth edition of the Asia Cup was played in Bangladesh. This competition was special for Afghanistan cricket supporters as their team made their debut in the continental tournament under the leadership of Mohammad Nabi. Afghanistan broke into the tournament as an Associate nation, while all other four teams were regular ICC members.
Among developed cricketing sides India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the Afghan team could not put up a fight but defeated the hosts Bangladesh. In the 2018 installment, Afghanistan looked completely different as they vanquished Sri Lanka in the third match of the competition and eliminated the latter from the competition.
Winning both games of the group stage, Afghanistan broke into the Super Four stage with a lot of confidence. In the Super Four round, they lost to Pakistan and Bangladesh by close margins, but in their last game, they gave stiff competition to India and ended the game in a tie with the Men in Blue.
1. Pakistan - 40.00%
Pakistan are usually considered the best team in the Asia Cup, along with India and Sri Lanka, who are seven-time and six-time title winners, respectively. However, their record is shaky against quality teams such as India and Sri Lanka in the Asian tournament. Against their arch-rivals India, they have won five games of their 13 outings in the marquee Asian tournament.
While against Sri Lanka, they have tasted success in only four matches out of their 14 games. In the 2018 edition of the tournament, they also faced an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Bangladesh and failed to qualify for the final. Although Pakistan are two-time Asia Cup title winners, these numbers clearly show they have not performed upto the mark in a majority of editions.
Talking about their overall figures, the Men in Green have played 45 matches in the continental tournament, in which they bagged 26, while in the 18 contests, they returned home with unsuccess. Currently, Pakistan have a defeat percentage of 40%.
CricTracker Desk
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