The 1988 Asia Cup was held in Bangladesh among the four cricketing nations of the subcontinent. under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lanka began the tournament against Pakistan with a win. Pakistan scored 194 runs and Sri Lanka passed the landmark in 39th over. In the second match against India, Sri Lanka batted first and scored 271 runs. Aravinda de Silva and Athula Samarasekara scored fifties in the match. India started the run chase softly and put up an 89-run partnership. With wickets in the regular intervals, India lost the match by 17 runs. Kapila Wijegunawardene took 4 wickets for 49 runs. In the final group stage match, Sri Lanka played against the host, Bangladesh. Inexperienced Bangladeshi team scored 118 runs and pacer Ravi Ratnayeke took 4 wickets for 23 runs. Sri Lanka scored 120 runs in the 31st overs where the opener Brendon Kuruppu scored an unbeaten 58. Sri Lanka played the final against Pakistan. However, they scored 176 runs in the match and Pakistan won the match by 6 wickets and won their first title of Asia Cup.
