India’s Asia Cup Win, A Deja Vu Moment

By: Drcricket7 Staff

It was a moment of deja-vu when Indian captain MS Dhoni’s penchant for winning big finals with over-boundaries was once again at display in Mirpur on Sunday.

Like he did during the 2011 World Cup final, Dhoni struck a big six off Al-Amin Hossain’s full-toss. This winning blow was celebrated with India’s sixth Asia Cup win.

Last time, MS Dhoni and his men were the crowned champs of Asia (2010), it had happened a few month before they reclaimed the World Cup (2011).

Unlike last time, India have a very little time to celebrate their victory now. That is because the World T20 Championship is just round the corner and the Asia Cup win was just what the doctor ordered.

Much have been said about Bangladesh’s nagging quality of upsetting big teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the tournament and how they could pose as a big threat for the Men in Blue.

But deep down inside even the Bangladeshi players knew that India were a different kettle of fish. Eventually, the hosts lost the final game by eight wickets.

Perhaps, India had seen the writing on the wall before the tournament started. In fact, India came into the tournament with two bilateral series wins against Australia and Sri Lanka.

It was the confidence to keep performance in every match that helped India to remain unbeaten throughout the tournament.

Also, Dhoni knew his winning combination before the Asia Cup began and even backed an out-of-form player like Shikhar Dhawan.

This was the same Dhawan, who reposed his captain’s faith and responded with a match-winning 60 off just 44 deliveries.

During India’s chase, it was Dhawan’s partnership with Virat Kohli that strengthen India’s cause further. Earlier, Bangladesh had a decent run with the bat and troubled a top bowler like Ashish Nehra.

But the good work from R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah made quite a lot of difference to the end result. A knock of 33 from 13 balls from Mahmudullah offered a plenty of hope for the home team, which was short-lived.

Opener Rohit Sharma might have missed out on a good opportunity to score some big runs in the big final, but his teammates and Delhi duo of Dhawan and Kohli completely destroyed the Bangladeshi attack with cool and composed mind-set.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi spectators screamed and made all kinds of noises to disintegrate the Indian pair. But every shot to the boundary was greeted with stoic silence.

Even during the first essay of the match, it was like a pin-drop silence whenever their home team lost a bit of momentum.

With this win, India have 10 wins from 11 game this year. From here, they would looking to repeat their Asia Cup show even in the World T20 Championship.