1998-99 Asian Test Championship
| Administrator(s) | Asian Cricket Council |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Test |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and final |
| Host(s) |
 India Pakistan Sri Lanka
|
| Champions |
Pakistan (1st title) |
| Participants | 3 |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Player of the series |
Wasim Akram
|
| Most runs |
M. Jayawardene (297) |
| Most wickets |
Wasim Akram (15) |
The first Asian Test Championship, organized by the Asian Cricket Council was held between 16 February and 16 March 1999.India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the tournament; Bangladesh could not compete because the ICC had not granted them Test status. This tournament was considered to be the predecessor to the Test Cricket World Cup that the ICC was planning for the 9 member nations. The tournament was almost canceled in January 1999 due to tour conflicts, television rights and security concerns.
Three round-robin tournament matches were played with each country meeting each other once and the top two sides playing a final. A win was worth 12 points, a tie 6 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. In addition to this, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling and batting performances (see Scoring system). The venues of the round robin matches were rotated between the three countries: India (Calcutta), Sri Lanka (Colombo) and Pakistan (Lahore), while the final was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a neutral venue.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 in the final to become the first Asian Test Champions and received US$250,000 in prize money. Sri Lanka, the losing finalists, were awarded US$145,000, and India, the losers of the first round, US$100,000. 'Man of the Series', Wasim Akram, won US$20,000, while 'Man of the Match' winners received US$5,000 in prize money.
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