A change of format
The Asia Cup had always been a fifty-over tournament. In 2016 it was played as Twenty20 Internationals, for the straightforward reason that the World Twenty20 began in India two weeks after it finished and none of the participating boards wanted their preparation to be in the wrong format. The Asian Cricket Council settled on the principle that the Asia Cup would from then on be played in whichever format matched the next global event, which is why later editions alternate.
Bangladesh hosted for the third time running, with all eleven matches at Mirpur. The fifth place went to the United Arab Emirates, who came through a qualifying tournament played in Bangladesh in the week before the main event.
India unbeaten
India won every match. The most striking was against Pakistan on 27 February, on a pitch offering seam movement under lights. Hardik Pandya took 3 for 8 and Pakistan were bowled out for 83 in 17.3 overs. India then lost five wickets themselves, Mohammad Amir taking 3 for 18 in an opening spell that troubled everybody, before Virat Kohli's 49 from 51 balls saw them home in 15.3 overs.
Bangladesh were the other side to reach the final, and did it by beating Sri Lanka and Pakistan in successive matches. Sabbir Rahman made 80 from 54 balls in the first of those and finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 176; Al-Amin Hossain took eleven wickets, more than any other bowler. Both awards went to players from the losing finalists.
Sri Lanka, the defending champions from 2014 and the World Twenty20 winners of 2014, won only one of their four matches. The UAE lost all four but ran Sri Lanka to fourteen runs in the opening game.
The final
Rain cut the final to fifteen overs a side. Bangladesh batted first and made 120 for 5, Mahmudullah scoring 33 not out from thirteen balls at the end. In a shortened game that was a competitive total.
It was not enough. Shikhar Dhawan made 60 from 44 balls, Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 41 from 28, and India needed only 13.5 overs. The eight-wicket margin was comfortable and the match was effectively over by the tenth over.
It was India's sixth Asia Cup and their second in a row in Bangladesh after 2010 and 2012 elsewhere. Two weeks later India lost a World Twenty20 semi-final at home to West Indies, and Bangladesh lost a group match to India by one run in Bengaluru, both of which rather overshadowed what had happened in Mirpur.