A bigger tournament
The Asia Cup had been dormant since 2000. When it returned in July 2004 it had been rebuilt. Six teams instead of four, two groups instead of one, a Super Fours round-robin between the survivors, and thirteen matches instead of seven. Two of the new places went to the region's leading associates, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, both making their first appearance in the competition.
The expansion was not entirely successful on the field. Hong Kong lost both group matches by 116 and 173 runs; the UAE lost both of theirs by 116 runs each. Neither has since been competitive in the tournament for long, but their inclusion set a precedent, and the Asia Cup has kept at least one associate side in the field ever since.
Group stage and Super Fours
Pakistan and Bangladesh came through Group A, Sri Lanka and India through Group B after Sri Lanka won the head-to-head by twelve runs at Dambulla, Mahela Jayawardene making 58 from 49 balls.
The Super Fours produced the tournament's best cricket. Sri Lanka bowled Pakistan out for 122 and won inside 32 overs, then beat Bangladesh by ten wickets with Sanath Jayasuriya unbeaten on 107 from 101 balls. Pakistan responded with 300 for 9 against India, Shoaib Malik making 143 from 137 balls. On 27 July, India and Sri Lanka played the closest match of the fortnight: India made 271 for 6, Jayasuriya replied with 130 from 132, and India won by four runs with Virender Sehwag taking 3 for 37 with his off-spin after making 81.
The final
Both those sides reached the final at the Premadasa on 1 August, and it turned out to be a different sort of game. The pitch was slow, Sri Lanka batted first, and 228 for 9 was worth more than it looked. Marvan Atapattu's 65 from 87 balls was the anchor and won him the man of the match award.
India never got the required rate under control. Sachin Tendulkar made 74 from 100 balls, but Upul Chandana's leg-spin took 3 for 33 from his ten overs, and India finished on 203 for 9, twenty-five short with all fifty overs used.
It was Sri Lanka's third Asia Cup. Jayasuriya was named player of the tournament, Malik finished as leading scorer with 316 runs, and Irfan Pathan, then nineteen, took fourteen wickets in his first Asia Cup.