India is a powerhouse of cricket in the Asian Subcontinent. Be it the men’s team or the women’s team, both have reigned supreme in many multination tournaments.
When it comes to the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, they have established their complete dominance over the ACC Women’s Asia Cup. The tournament is one of the premier multi-nation competitions after the Women’s ODI World Cup and the Women’s T20I World Cup.
The Women’s Asia Cup started in 2004 with 2 teams — India and Sri Lanka. But since then, it has come a long way, with other countries from the region playing in the tournament.
Since its inception, India have won the continental tournament the most times. So, here we’ll look at the winners of the Women’s Asia Cup, edition by edition.
ACC Women’s Asia Cup Winners: Edition by Edition
| Edition | Format | Winner | Runner Up | Host Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ODI | India | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| 2005-06 | ODI | India | Sri Lanka | Pakistan |
| 2006 | ODI | India | Sri Lanka | India |
| 2008 | ODI | India | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| 2012 | T20I | India | Pakistan | China |
| 2016 | T20I | India | Pakistan | Thailand |
| 2018 | T20I | Bangladesh | India | Malaysia |
| 2022 | T20I | India | Sri Lanka | Bangladesh |
| 2024 | T20I | Sri Lanka | India | Sri Lanka |
India: 7 | 2004, 2005-06, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2022
India had an invincible run in the Women’s Asia Cup until 2018, when Bangladesh defeated them in the final. India’s successful run started in 2004, as India clean sweeped Sri Lanka in the 5-match series to win the inaugural edition.
The second edition took place in Pakistan, with the hosts being the third participating team. But the story was similar to that of the previous edition, with India winning the tournament back-to-back.
The 2006 edition happened in India, with the 3 teams competing in a double round-robin format. India and Sri Lanka again squared off in the final, with the result again going in favour of India.
The fourth edition saw the addition of Bangladesh, making it a 4-team tournament. India clinched their fourth Asia Cup title by wrapping up Sri Lanka for 83 runs.
The 2012 edition saw a huge expansion along with a change of format. The women’s continental tournament grew from 4 to 8 teams, with the T20I format used for the first time.
With the teams divided into 2 groups, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh made it to the semi-finals. The final witnessed archrivals India and Pakistan face off for the first time in the all-important clash.
Pakistan’s bowlers did a good job of restricting India to 81 runs. But Indian bowlers came down hard on Pakistan to skittle them for 63 runs, winning the title for the fifth time.
The sixth edition, held in Bangkok, Thailand, put India and Pakistan once again in the summit clash. This time around as well, India defended a decent total to get their hands on the trophy for the sixth time in a row.
In 2018, Bangladesh ended India’s winning streak in a nail-biter final. But the Women in Blue claimed their glory back in 2022, as they won their seventh Asia Cup by thrashing Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh: 1 | 2018
In the seventh edition, Bangladesh scripted history by defeating India in a last-ball thriller in the final. While batting first, the defending champions posted a below-par total of 112 on the board.
In response, Bangladesh got off to a decent start, but they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, Bangladesh held their nerves as the match went down the wire to win the match on the last ball.
With that close victory, Bangladesh became only the second team to win the Women’s Asia Cup.
Sri Lanka: 1 | 2024
Sri Lanka hosted the Women’s Asia Cup for the third time and marched into the final without losing a match. They were up against India in the summit clash.
India elected to bat first and put up 165 runs on the board, with Smiti Mandhana scoring 60 off 47 and quick cameos from Jemimah Rodrigues (29 off 16) and Richa Ghosh (30 off 14).
In response, Sri Lanka lost a wicket early on, but captain Chamari Athapaththu led the charge, scoring 61 off 43. Once Chamari departed, Harshitha Samarawickrama (69* off 51) and Kavisha Dilhari (30* off 15) took up the mantle and finished off the chase with 8 balls and 8 wickets to spare.
After India and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka became the third team to clinch the Women’s Asia Cup.
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