While Sharjah gave the Asia Cup its birth certificate, Dubai International Stadium has become the tournament’s real seat of power.
Since 2018, every single Asia Cup involving India and Pakistan has run through this ground, three editions, three finals connected to it, and a growing pile of records most fans never connect together.
Here’s every Dubai International Stadium Asia Cup record in one place, plus the pattern behind them that nobody else is pointing out.
Dubai International Stadium: The Asia Cup’s New Power Center
Dubai International Stadium only opened in 2009, decades after Sharjah, yet it has quietly become the tournament’s most important venue. The stadium has hosted three separate Asia Cup editions and, more tellingly, has staged the final of every Asia Cup played in the UAE:
- 2018 Asia Cup — Dubai co-hosted with Abu Dhabi (ODI format); the final was played in Dubai.
- 2022 Asia Cup — Dubai co-hosted with Sharjah (T20I format); the final was played in Dubai.
- 2025 Asia Cup — Dubai co-hosted with Abu Dhabi (T20I format); the final was again played in Dubai.
That’s the angle worth noticing: no matter which venue shares hosting duties, the summit clash always lands in Dubai. This isn’t a coincidence — it comes down to capacity and broadcast infrastructure, which the section below breaks down.
Which Asia Cup Editions Has Dubai Hosted?
| Year | Asia Cup Edition | Format | Co-Host | Final Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 14th Asia Cup | ODI | Abu Dhabi | Dubai |
| 2022 | 15th Asia Cup | T20I | Sharjah | Dubai |
| 2025 | 17th Asia Cup | T20I | Abu Dhabi | Dubai |
Dubai International Stadium has now hosted three Asia Cup finals in a row whenever the tournament has been staged in the UAE, a streak no other Asia Cup venue can currently match.
Batting Records at Dubai International Stadium in the Asia Cup
Dubai’s surface has produced everything from record partnerships to the tournament’s first-ever tie, and its two formats have thrown up very different kinds of milestones.
ODI-format Asia Cup batting records (2018):
- Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on 210 runs for the opening wicket against Pakistan in the Super Four — India’s highest partnership batting second against Pakistan, and the fourth-highest partnership in Asia Cup history at the time.
- India posted their highest team total of the 2018 tournament, 285/7, against Hong Kong.
- Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad smashed 124 against India in the Super Four — still Afghanistan’s only century against India in Asia Cup history.
- That same India-Afghanistan match, played at Dubai on September 25, 2018, ended 252 apiece — the first tied match in Asia Cup history.
T20-format Asia Cup batting records (2022 & 2025):
- Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the 2022 Super Four remains one of the standout individual innings the venue has produced in the shortest format.
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s match-winning 71 not out off 45 balls in the 2022 final — rescuing Sri Lanka from 58/5 — is widely regarded as one of the great Asia Cup final innings.
- Abhishek Sharma was the leading run-scorer of the entire 2025 Asia Cup, racking up 309 runs in six innings, largely built at Dubai, including three consecutive fifties.
- The India vs Sri Lanka Super Four clash in 2025 saw both sides finish level on 202, sending the match to a Super Over — Dubai’s second Asia Cup match to be decided by a tie in seven years.
Bowling Records at Dubai International Stadium in the Asia Cup
- Ravindra Jadeja’s 4/30 against Afghanistan in the tied 2018 Super Four match remains India’s best bowling figures against Afghanistan in Asia Cup history.
- Thisara Perera’s 5/55 against Bangladesh in the 2018 tournament was rated the best bowling figures of that edition.
- Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Kuldeep Yadav all finished the 2018 tournament with 10 wickets apiece, the joint-highest tally that year — with several of those wickets coming at Dubai.
- Wanindu Hasaranga and Pramod Madushan combined for seven wickets in the 2022 final at Dubai, dismantling Pakistan’s chase after their own middle-order collapse.
- Kuldeep Yadav was the leading wicket-taker of the entire 2025 Asia Cup with 13 scalps at an average of 9.85, a tally built heavily on Dubai pitches.
Two Ties in Seven Years: Dubai’s Signature Record
This is the record most “Asia Cup stats” roundups skip entirely, and it’s arguably Dubai’s most distinctive trait as a venue: it has produced two tied Asia Cup matches, a rate no other Asia Cup ground comes close to.
| Year | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | India vs Afghanistan (Super Four) | Tied at 252 — first tie in Asia Cup history |
| 2025 | India vs Sri Lanka (Super Four) | Tied at 202 — decided by Super Over |
Most cricket grounds go entire decades without producing a single tied international. Dubai has delivered two inside a single tournament’s worth of India fixtures across two editions, a genuinely unusual statistical fingerprint for one venue.
Team & Final Records at Dubai International Stadium
- India are unbeaten in Asia Cup matches at Dubai across the 2025 edition, winning all six games they played, including two victories over Pakistan before completing a third win in the final.
- Sri Lanka won their sixth Asia Cup title at Dubai in 2022, beating Pakistan by 23 runs — their first title in the T20 format.
- Pakistan have now lost two Asia Cup finals at this venue (2022 and 2025) without winning one, making Dubai statistically their unluckiest Asia Cup final venue.
- The 2025 final between India and Pakistan was the first-ever Asia Cup final meeting between the two rivals, adding a historic first to Dubai’s résumé on top of its hosting streak.
Dubai International Stadium’s Broader Cricketing Profile
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Year opened | 2009 |
| International matches hosted (all formats) | 154+ |
| ODIs hosted | 58 |
| T20Is hosted | 93+ |
| Highest ODI total at the venue | England, 355/5 (2015) |
| Best ODI bowling figures at the venue | Shahid Afridi, 6/38 vs Australia (2009) |
| Best T20I bowling figures at the venue | Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 5/4 vs Afghanistan (2022 Super Four) |
Why Every Asia Cup Final Ends Up in Dubai
This is the pattern the rest of the internet buries in the middle of match previews instead of explaining outright. Dubai International Stadium has a seating capacity that comfortably exceeds Sharjah’s, and its broadcast and floodlighting infrastructure is built for the scale of a modern India vs Pakistan occasion.
So when the ACC has to pick one ground to host the final, the match that decides ticket revenue, broadcast reach, and neutral-venue optics, Dubai wins by default. Sharjah, despite being the tournament’s spiritual home, hasn’t hosted an Asia Cup final since Dubai International Stadium opened.
Abu Dhabi has co-hosted twice but never landed the final either. Dubai’s three-for-three record isn’t luck; it’s infrastructure economics playing out the same way every time.
Quick-Reference: Dubai’s Asia Cup Timeline
- 2009 — Stadium opens; stages its first international match the same year.
- 2018 — Hosts its first Asia Cup, including the tournament’s first-ever tied match (India vs Afghanistan) and the final.
- 2022 — Co-hosts with Sharjah; Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in a low-scoring final to win their sixth title.
- 2025 — Co-hosts with Abu Dhabi; produces a second Super Four tie (India vs Sri Lanka) and stages the first-ever India vs Pakistan Asia Cup final, won by India.
Also Read:
- Gaddafi Stadium Records & Stats in Asia Cup (2026 Updated)
- Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium Asia Cup Records (Stats 2026)
Conclusion
Dubai International Stadium’s Asia Cup story isn’t about one iconic innings, it’s about a pattern.
Three editions, three finals, two rare ties, and an unbeaten India campaign in 2025 all point to a venue that has quietly become the tournament’s default finishing line.
Sharjah may own the nostalgia, but Dubai now owns the moments that decide champions. For any fan tracking where Asia Cup history is actually being written, this ground is the one to watch.
