Asia Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history; watch here

The Asia Cup has been one of the most prestigious cricket tournaments in the world for the better part of the last four decades. In 1983, after the foundation of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the continental event was launched to promote goodwill among the nations in the region. The inaugural champions from 1984, India have won the Asia Cup for the record seven times, including six in the ODI and one in the T20I format. Sri Lanka, the island nation has attained the coveted trophy six times, five times in ODIs and once in T20Is. Pakistan are the only other team to lay their hands on the championship, winning it in 2000 and 2012. The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the ODI format, starting from August 31. The final of the tournament will be held on September 17 in the island nation. Notably, since the first continental event was played in UAE, the best teams from Asia have created some of the most memorable moments on the field, enthralling cricket fans in the process. But there have been numerous altercations in the tournament, which haven’t been looked back fondly by the players or fans. Here are the five most heated moments in the Asia Cup history. Hasan Ali vs Asghar Afghan and Hashmatullah Shahidi in 2018 In the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup, the first match of the Super Four stage saw Pakistan defeat Afghanistan in a close encounter in Abu Dhabi. During the pursuit of the 268-run target, Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was batting well for Afghanistan, played a stroke straight toward Hasan Ali in his follow-through. The frustrated Pakistan fast bowler received the ball and gestured to throw the ball towards the batter. Later in the same innings, Asghar Afghan, the captain of Afghanistan, who was batting alongside Hashmatullah Shahidi, took on Hasan Ali by brushing his shoulder with him, while completing a run. This led to Afghan and Ali both being found guilty of breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, getting fined 15% of their match fees in the process. #PAGE_BREAK# Asif Ali vs Fareed Ahmed in 2022 Pakistan versus Afghanistan in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah is considered one of the most intense cricket matches in the history of the sport, for both on-field and off-field reasons. During their 129-run chase, Pakistan were struggling massively when Asif Ali came out to bat in the 17th over. He managed to hit an all-important six against Fareed Khan to bring his team closer to a famous win. On the next ball, when the Afghanistan bowler got the wicket of Asif Ali, he had an ugly spat with him. The Pakistani batter was about to hit Fareed Khan with his bat before the umpires and players intervened to bring the situation under control. After Pakistan won the match, thanks to two blistering sixes from Naseem Shah, the supporters of both nations had a fight of their own in the grandstands at Sharjah. Also read: Three players who can replace Shreyas Iyer in Asia Cup 2023 #PAGE_BREAK# Rashid Khan vs Danushka Gunathilaka in 2022 Afghanistan suffered their first loss in the Asia Cup 2022 against Sri Lanka, during the Super Four stage at Sharjah. Although, the most talked about moment of this match occurred in Sri Lanka run chase of 179 runs when Danuskha Gunathilaka got into a heated exchange with Rashid Khan after reverse sweeping him to the boundary. Bhanuka Rajapaksa intervened at just about the right time to separate both the players, before something major definitely looked like going down. At the very end, Rashid Khan had the last laugh as he managed to smash the stumps of Danushka Gunathilaka. #PAGE_BREAK# Harbhajan Singh vs Shoaib Akhtar in 2010 During the all-important match of the Asia Cup 2010 in Dambulla, Pakistan put up a formidable total of 267 on the board. India were well within touching distance of the win in the run chase, thanks to the fifties from Gautam Gambhir and captain MS Dhoni against the arch-enemy. In the second last over of the pulsating encounter, Shoaib Akhtar sent out a barrage of bouncers to Harbhajan Singh, who had hit him for a six earlier in the innings. As the Indian batter missed one of those short-pitched deliveries while going for the pull, Akhtar gave him an earful while Singh did not hold back. After the right-arm off-spinner guided India to victory in the last over, he roared out with arms aloft, while staring down the Pakistan fast bowler. Also read - Asia Cup 2023 Schedule: Pakistan to host four matches; nine to be played in Sri Lanka #PAGE_BREAK# Gautam Gambhir vs Kamran Akmal in 2010 Before the incident between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh, the Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was involved in an intense quarrel with Kamran Akmal of Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2010 match at Dambulla. The moment occurred when Saeed Ajmal beat the outside edge of the Delhi-born cricketer. It led to both the bowler and the wicketkeeper appealing to the umpire. Gautam Gambhir didn’t look too impressed with Kamran Akmal, who was quite loud with his appeal. During the drinks break, the batter took matters into his own hands to let the Pakistan player know what he thought of him. Akmal didn’t hold back either, which made him and Gambhir nearly come to blows in the field. The Indian captain MS Dhoni and umpires came between both the players to let the calmer heads prevail.

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Asia Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history; watch here

Rashid Khan vs Danushka Gunathilaka in 2022