India won the Asia Cup for the seventh and second time in a row by defeating Bangladesh by three wickets in a thrilling final in Dubai. India’s victory in what turned out to be a thrilling final was aided by some tenacious hitting from the lower middle order.
Let us review India’s highlights at the Asia Cup 2018.
India vs Hong Kong, 4th match, Group A
In their first group league game of the Asia Cup on September 18 at Dubai, India escaped a fright before winning by 26 runs over Hong Kong’s amateurs. Earlier, Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Previously, despite a Shikhar Dhawan special, India was only able to score 285 runs. They lost too many wickets in the end, and even then, everyone was wondering how swiftly India would complete the task. India had to snap themselves out of the misery after a 174-run opening stand between Nizakat Khan (92) and Anshuman Rath (73). Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal’s adhesive wrists seized control as they recovered. Their combined 20 overs yielded 88 runs and, more crucially, 5 wickets. That, however, was not the case. Khaleel Ahmed, the debutant, was once an unknown name, but that is no longer the case. After the 35-over mark, his energetic spells tipped the balance heavily in India’s favour.
India vs Pakistan , 5th match, Group A
In the Asia Cup 2018 Group A match on September 19, India defeated Pakistan by eight wickets. India chased down a modest 163-run target in just 29 overs. In the end, Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik were not defeated. Earlier, India’s bowlers did a good job of limiting Pakistan to 162. For taking three wickets, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was chosen man of the match, and he was strongly assisted by the other pacers and spinners. Pakistan’s leading scorer was Babar Azam, who had 47 runs. The bowling team put up an outstanding performance, dismissing Pakistan for 162 in 43.1 overs before Rohit Sharma (52 off 39 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (46 off 54 balls) combined 86 for the first wicket to secure a straightforward chase for the ‘Men In Blue’ in only 29 overs. In terms of remaining balls (126), this was India’s most emphatic victory.
India vs Bangladesh, 7th match, Super Four
This was India’s first game in Super Four after they won against Hong Kong and Pakistan in the group stages. This was an important game for Rohit Sharma’s men. Skipper himself win it for the team as his blistering 83* run innings which came in 104 balls was enough for India to register their first win in Super Four of Asia Cup 2018.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was named man of the match for his spell of 4/29. The opening pair for India i.e. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were brilliant though they were chasing the target of just 174 runs. Former Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni also scored 33 runs in 37 balls, including three boundaries in the inning. It was an easy win for India as they performed well in both bowling as well as batting.
India vs Pakistan, 9th Match, Super Four
Rohit-led India did play against Pakistan in the tournament before in the group stages. This was their second meet in the same tournament. India won the previous game with ease as they bowled out the Pakistan team on 162 and chased it in the 30th over. In the Super Four game against Pakistan, India was bowling first and their bowlers again restricted Pakistan to 237. Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav took 2-2 wickets in the game.
The Star performers of this game were Shikhar Dhawan and Skipper Rohit Sharma. Both the opening batters took Pakistani bowlers on remand as both of them scored centuries in the game. Later, Shikhar Dhawan was named man of the match for his blistering 114 run inning which came in just 100 balls. On the other hand, his opening partner Rohit scored 111* in 119 balls. India won the game by 9 wickets and confirmed their place in the finals of Asia Cup 2018.
India vs Afghanistan, 11th Match, Super Four
India won all the games of Asia Cup 2018 except this Super Four game against Afghanistan. The match was tied and it was one of the most entertaining matches in this tournament. As a win against Pakistan in the last game confirm India’s place in the Finals of Asia Cup 2018, the team rotated the squad a bit. Skipper Rohit Sharma and his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan were rested for the game. Despite changing the playing XI, India played well. Indian bowlers restricted the Afghanistan team to 252 runs in the first innings.
Chasing 253, Indian openers KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu gave a good start to India. After both the openers were dismissed, the Indian team was in real trouble as Afghanistan bowlers didn’t let the middle order of India stay for too long at the crease. India was 9 down when they required 1 run in 2 balls and Ravindra Jadeja was at the crease. He was dismissed by star spin bowler Rashid Khan on the second last ball and the game tied.
India vs Bangladesh finals
In a rematch of the 2016 final (played in T20I format), India surpassed Bangladesh’s 223-run target on the penultimate ball of their innings. Liton Das scored his first ODI century for Bangladesh, but he received no help from the other batters. The Bangladeshi squad put in a valiant attempt on the field, but India’s lower order batsmen proved too strong for them. Bangladesh managed to dismiss Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu early in the innings while defending a score of 223. They then sacked Indian skipper Rohit Sharma just as he appeared to be posing a threat. Following that, while Bangladesh continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals, India’s carefully constructed partnerships, such as the one between veterans Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni, resulted in India completing the match just a little ahead of Bangladesh.
