Tigers challenge India in final today

Sports Desk: Tigers take on holders India today (Friday) in the Asia cup final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium after outplaying Pakistan by 37 runs in a virtual semifinal at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The match kicks off at 5.30 pm (BST). Now Tigers are ready to roar again. Injury is the Bangladesh's major Achilles' heel in the tournament from the beginning.

Bangladesh continued to miss out on the services of regular opener Tamim Iqbal due to injury and ever since his absence, have been struggling to get a good off to a sound start with the charge given to young and inexperienced shoulders.

The lack of batting depth in the top-order was exposed and with all-rounder Shakib al Hasan getting ruled out owing to injury too, the troubles only increased for the men in red and green.

That left Mushfiqur Rahim - a member of Bangladesh's most important batting trio - to do a lot all by himself. Bangladesh Cricket Board's decision to circumvent the captain of the side Mashrafe Mortaza and bring in top-order reinforcements in Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar has worked in odd ways.

Kayes has done well by adapting to his middle-order role and played the innings that kept Bangladesh alive.

Sarkar's failure to bat well against Pakistan still raises question regarding his inclusion, but he bowled five crucial overs, and will remain crucial through his bit-part role in the absence of Shakib.

But the Bangladesh bowling attack is the most potent in 50 over cricket with Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, and Mashrafe Mortaza ready to lead from the front to test the Indian strong batting line up.

The cutter master Mustafizur has a lot of tricks up his sleeve while Mashrafe's experience has also strengthened the teams' bowling line-up. In batting, the team will bank heavily on the ever-dependable Mushfiqur Rahim, who has been the 'crisis man' along with the very stylish Mahmudullah Riyad.

However, the Tigers will have to undergo tough challenge by an in-form Jasprit Bumrah. Tackling the guile of Kuldeep Yadav, deception of Yuzvendra Chahal and probing questions from Ravindra Jadeja will also be quite a task for the Bangladesh line-up. However, India will remain overwhelming favourites to win the tournament for a record seventh time while Bangladesh will be hoping to be third-time lucky in the Asia Cup.

On the other hand, it will be a different test for India though. A victory in the Asia Cup without their skipper and best batsman Virat Kohli will be a big statement going into next year's World Cup. It should not forget, the Asia Cup trophy will be a healing touch after 1-4 Test series defeat in England.

After resting five regular players during a wake-up call from Afghanistan in their tied Super Four match, India is expected to restore their orders in the final against Bangladesh. Two openers skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy Shikhar Dhawan will be back at the top of the order while Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal will bolster the bowling line-up.

A lot will depend on the start provided by Rohit (269 runs) and Shikhar (327 runs) as the middle order has looked shaky at times. Ambati Rayudu has looked set in all the games but has not finished off well while Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have struggled in middle overs. Dhoni's struggle is the biggest worry as a total of 240 plus could prove to be challenging on a slow track if the team bats second.

The only match where the Indian middle order was tested was the Afghanistan game where they came a cropper despite a century opening stand by the makeshift pair of KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu.

India is expecting significant batting contribution from Dhoni in the middle in order to face more deliveries.

Probable squads: Bangladesh - Mashrafe 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 and Abu Haider Rony.

India - Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wicket keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul and Deepak Chahar.


risingbd/ Sept 28, 2018/Mukul