Asia cup 2018 Final ( India )

Asia Cup 2018 Final Preview: Favorites India to face injury-stricken Bangladesh in summit clash

India will face Bangladesh in the final of the Asia Cup 2018 on Friday.

Enjoying an unbeaten run at the Asia Cup, India appear to be the favourites. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have a few injury woes to deal with before the summit clash.

The stage is set for another epic finale in the Asia Cup as familiar rivals India face Bangladesh in the summit clash on Friday. It is the second year in a row these two teams will compete in the final of the Asia Cup. Two years ago, it was MS Dhoni-led India that had finished on the positive side of things. This time, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, the Men in Blue, once again appear to be the favourites to lift the trophy for the record 7th time.

Bangladesh, who defeated Pakistan in the do-or-die Super Four clash on Wednesday, will face a stiff challenge on Sunday as they attempt to be three-time Asian Champions. The side led by Mashrafe Mortaza has already suffered a hefty 7-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the tournament, and to add to their woes, some of their key players are suffering from injuries.

After losing out on the opening batsman Tamim Iqbal on the opening day of the contest due to wrist fracture, the long-term finger injury of Shakib Al Hasan has resurfaced again to haunt the Bangladesh allrounder. The left-handed batsman was ruled out from the contest against Pakistan and had to travel back to Dhaka, with team management suggesting he might take another four-to-six weeks to recover.

KL Rahul dilemma

For India, it is an altogether different sort of test staring at them. Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been brilliant at the top. While Dhawan has scored 327 runs in 4 innings at an average of 81.75, his opening partner has amassed 25 runs in 4 innings at an average of 134.50. The two decided to sit out in the dead rubber Afghanistan earlier this week and in their absence, KL Rahul scored 60 runs. Now, here is the dilemma facing Indian dressing room- should Rahul be included in the playing XI in the final?

While India’s openers have been excellent, it has not left much for the middle-order to do. Ambati Rayudu has scored 173 runs in 5 innings at an average of 70.33. But it still remains to be seen if he and Dinesh Karthik are able to settle down the innings in case Dhawan and Sharma both depart early. This line of thought begs for Rahul to be given a chance, who has been good form in the limited-overs format. But if he is selected, the 27-year-old will have to play in the no. 3 position instead of his coveted opening position, which might be a gamble.

MS Dhoni conundrum

Another worry in Indian camp might be the form of former skipper MS Dhoni. The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored just 44 runs in 3 innings, despite being promoted up the batting order. The captain will have to decide on his batting order, in case India lose quick wickets. India will have to figure out if it makes sense for Dhoni to bat at No. 4 and settle himself in the middle or come at his usual No. 6 position to give quick runs in the death overs.

Bangladesh game-changers

Against mighty India, Bangladesh will once again rely on their star performer Mushfiqur Rahim, who is the 2nd highest run-scorer in the tournament so far. The right-handed batsman has scored 297 runs in 4 ODIs at an average of 74.25 in the tournament at a strike rate of 81.82. His innings of 99 against Pakistan helped his side in putting up a competitive total in the do-or-die clash on Wednesday and India would consider him as the major threat, going into the final.

Another game-changer for Bangladesh is the seamer Mustafizur Rahman, who was brilliant against Pakistan and proved to be lethal on a slow track. The left-armer picked up four wickets and helped his side in restricting their opponents for 202/9 in 50 overs, 37 runs short of the target. Indian batsmen will have to be careful against the seamer as he has the ability to pick up quick wickets.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul, Deepak Chahar

Bangladesh: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Litton Kumar Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam Apu, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Haider Rony

                                                                                                                                     Source-Unknown