Australasia Cup
Encyclopedia
The Austral-Asia Cup was a One Day International cricket tournament held at Sharjah
, United Arab Emirates
.
The Arab cricketer, enthusiast and millionaire Abdur Rahman Bukhathir brought cricket initially to Sharjah in the mid-1980s and he masterminded a one day tournament involving Asia
and Australasia
's main cricketing nations - Australia
, India
, New Zealand
, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka
.
took 4-9 in 10 overs.
Pakistan and India met in the final in front of a capacity crowd of 20,000. India scored 245-7 with Sunil Gavaskar
top-scoring with 92. Pakistan need 90 to win of the last ten overs. Javed Miandad
held the innings together. In a tense finale, the last over bowled by Chetan Sharma
began with 11 runs required. During the over two wickets fell and with Pakistan needing 4 runs and India one final wicket from the last ball. Javed hit the ball into the crowd for a six. Pakistan finished on 248-9 with Javed finishing on 116 not out. It is still considered as one of the most historic moments in one-day cricket history and Javed became a Pakistani national hero. The win also gave a psychological advantage for Pakistan against India in Cricket which lasted almost for a decade.
Here is the final statistics for last over bowled by Chetan Sharma
Group A: Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh
Group B: India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
With Bangladesh and India falling by the wayside, Australia beat Sri Lanka in the first semi-final with Simon O'Donnell
hitting a then world record 50 in 18 balls. Pakistan again bowled New Zealand out for less than 100 to go through to the final. During the tournament Waqar Younis
took 4 wickets in an innings three successive times: 4-42, 6-26 and 5-20.
Pakistan scored 266-7 in the final and Australia's 10 match winning streak was brought to an end by Wasim Akram
. He ended their innings with a hat-trick
. Australia making 230.
(UAE) replaced Bangladesh as the sixth team in the tournament. Again there were two groups of three teams.
Group A: India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates
Group B: Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
The UAE and Sri Lanka did not make the semis. India defeated Australia in the first semi-final and this time Pakistan scored 328-2 with a then world record stand for the 2nd wicket between Aamer Sohail
(134) and Inzamam-ul-Haq
(137 not out) of 263 against New Zealand and won by 62 runs.
This set up the final most people wanted: India v Pakistan. Pakistan made 250 for 6 Aamer Sohail
top scoring with 69 and India were bowled all out for 211. Pakistan had a hat-trick of Austral-Asia Cup triumphs.
Tournaments such as the ICC Champions Trophy
have partially taken its place.
Sharjah (city)
Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.Sharjah is the seat of government of the emirate of Sharjah...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
The Arab cricketer, enthusiast and millionaire Abdur Rahman Bukhathir brought cricket initially to Sharjah in the mid-1980s and he masterminded a one day tournament involving Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
's main cricketing nations - Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
.
First edition 1986
The first tournament was held at Sharjah in April 1986. India beat New Zealand and Pakistan beat Australia in the first round. Sri Lanka as Asia Cup winners got a bye to the semi-final, where they lost to India. New Zealand fielding a weakened team were bowled all out for 64 in the other semi. Abdul QadirAbdul Qadir (cricketer)
Abdul Qadir Khan is a former Pakistani international cricketer, later commentator and was recently the Chief Selector of Pakistan Cricket Board. He resigned from the post because of his differences with the top brass of Pakistan cricket board...
took 4-9 in 10 overs.
Pakistan and India met in the final in front of a capacity crowd of 20,000. India scored 245-7 with Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
top-scoring with 92. Pakistan need 90 to win of the last ten overs. Javed Miandad
Javed Miandad
Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team...
held the innings together. In a tense finale, the last over bowled by Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma
Chetan Sharma was a medium pace bowler who represented India at cricket.Sharma was coached by Desh Prem Azad, a Dronacharya Award winner, who was also the mentor of Kapil Dev...
began with 11 runs required. During the over two wickets fell and with Pakistan needing 4 runs and India one final wicket from the last ball. Javed hit the ball into the crowd for a six. Pakistan finished on 248-9 with Javed finishing on 116 not out. It is still considered as one of the most historic moments in one-day cricket history and Javed became a Pakistani national hero. The win also gave a psychological advantage for Pakistan against India in Cricket which lasted almost for a decade.
- Pakistan Wins
Here is the final statistics for last over bowled by Chetan Sharma
Last Over Statistics
| Over | Batsman | Runs Scored | How Out | Runs to Win | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49.1 | Wasim Akram Wasim Akram Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches.... |
0 | Run out | 10 | Akram ran out to give Miandad Strike | |
| 49.2 | Javed Miandad Javed Miandad Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team... |
4 | ||||
| 06 | Miandad struck boundary | |||||
| 49.3 | Javed Miandad Javed Miandad Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team... |
1 | ||||
| 05 | Single taken | |||||
| 49.4 | Zulqarnain Zulqarnain Zulqarnain is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 3 Tests and 16 ODIs from 1986 to 1989.-References:**... |
0 | Bowled Bowled Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler... Chetan Sharma Chetan Sharma Chetan Sharma was a medium pace bowler who represented India at cricket.Sharma was coached by Desh Prem Azad, a Dronacharya Award winner, who was also the mentor of Kapil Dev... |
05 | ||
| 49.5 | Tauseef Ahmed Tauseef Ahmed Tauseef Ahmed is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 34 Tests and 70 ODIs from 1980 to 1993.He sported a trademark afro and moustache for most of his career.... |
1 | save | 04 | Azharuddin missed the run out chance of Tauseef | |
| 49.6 | Javed Miandad Javed Miandad Mohammad Javed Miandad Khan , popularly known as Javed Miandad , is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1975 and 1996. He is Pakistan's leading run scorer in Test cricket. He has served as a captain of the Pakistan national cricket team... |
6 | ||||
| 0 | Miandad struck Sharma's full toss for "[]" |
Second edition 1990
The second tournament took place in April 1990 at Sharjah with Bangladesh joining in. The six teams were split into 2 groups:Group A: Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh
Group B: India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
With Bangladesh and India falling by the wayside, Australia beat Sri Lanka in the first semi-final with Simon O'Donnell
Simon O'Donnell
Simon Patrick O'Donnell is a former Australian cricketer and VFL footballer, currently a horse racing and cricket commentator.-Cricket:...
hitting a then world record 50 in 18 balls. Pakistan again bowled New Zealand out for less than 100 to go through to the final. During the tournament Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time...
took 4 wickets in an innings three successive times: 4-42, 6-26 and 5-20.
Pakistan scored 266-7 in the final and Australia's 10 match winning streak was brought to an end by Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
. He ended their innings with a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
. Australia making 230.
- Pakistan Wins
Third edition 1994
The United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates cricket team
The United Arab Emirates national cricket team is the team that represents the country of the United Arab Emirates in international cricket matches...
(UAE) replaced Bangladesh as the sixth team in the tournament. Again there were two groups of three teams.
Group A: India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates
Group B: Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
The UAE and Sri Lanka did not make the semis. India defeated Australia in the first semi-final and this time Pakistan scored 328-2 with a then world record stand for the 2nd wicket between Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail is a former professional Pakistani cricketer and PCB Chief Selector. With Saeed Anwar, he formed one of the best opening combinations Pakistan has ever had....
(134) and Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq , also known as Inzamam, nicknamed Inzy, is a former Pakistan international cricketer who was national captain between 2003 and 2007. He is a right-handed batsman who has been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era...
(137 not out) of 263 against New Zealand and won by 62 runs.
This set up the final most people wanted: India v Pakistan. Pakistan made 250 for 6 Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail is a former professional Pakistani cricketer and PCB Chief Selector. With Saeed Anwar, he formed one of the best opening combinations Pakistan has ever had....
top scoring with 69 and India were bowled all out for 211. Pakistan had a hat-trick of Austral-Asia Cup triumphs.
- Pakistan Wins
No space on the fixture list
Due to the busy international fixture schedule and the match fixing allegations that tarnished cricket at places like Sharjah, the Austral-Asia Cup hasn't been contested since 1994.Tournaments such as the ICC Champions Trophy
ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International cricket tournament, second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out tournament in 1998 and has been played every two years since, changing its name to the Champions Trophy in 2002...
have partially taken its place.