Pepsi Asia Cup, 1994-95

India ended the season as they began it, meeting Sri Lanka in a one-day final. As in Colombo in September, they were victorious, adding the Asia Cup (which they won for the fourth time in five tournaments) to the Singer Trophy. Their triumph would have been even sweeter had they overcome their traditional rivals, Pakistan, who beat them, as so often at Sharjah, in the qualifying rounds.

But the competition saw a major upset when Sri Lanka pushed past Pakistan to contest the final. Pakistan had appeared in every Sharjah final since 1988-89 and seemed certain to keep up that record after crushing India and Bangladesh. Their troubles in recent months finally caught up with them, however. They had survived the sacking of captain Salim Malik while he answered allegations of bribery, the dropping of several senior players and a squabble with all-rounder Wasim Akram about his wife's accommodation. But when the new captain, Moin Khan, succumbed to chicken-pox and Wasim's new-ball partner, Aqib Javed, was injured, they cracked. All three Test teams tied on points, but Sri Lanka, playing with forceful determination, edged out Pakistan on run-rate. The fourth side, Bangladesh, could never rise above their inexperience and provided easy wins for the others.

With four one-day titles, including two at home, in 1994-95, and a powerful batting line-up - Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin all fired here - India looked forward with confidence to the 1996 World Cup, although their manager, Ajit Wadekar, announced at the final that he was retiring after three successful seasons.

Note: Matches in this section were not first-class.

Match reports for

1st Match: Bangladesh v India at Sharjah, Apr 5, 1995
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2nd Match: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Apr 6, 1995
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3rd Match: India v Pakistan at Sharjah, Apr 7, 1995
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4th Match: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Sharjah, Apr 8, 1995
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5th Match: India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Apr 9, 1995
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6th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Apr 11, 1995
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Final: India v Sri Lanka at Sharjah, Apr 14, 1995
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