Unbeaten India will look to continue with their impressive run while Bangladesh would hope absence of star players Tamim and Shakib don't hurt their team too much in today's Asia Cup title clash
Rohit Sharma
India go into today's Asia Cup final against Bangladesh with mixed feelings. They will be happy that arch-rivals Pakistan have been knocked out, but they have lost an opportunity to avenge last year's Champions Trophy final defeat.
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The Men in Blue are not facing Pakistan, but they cannot be complacent. Bangladesh are a tough side on their day as Pakistan found to their dismay in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Though Bangladesh are without two of their top stars, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, they still they have players who will fight tooth and nail whatever the situation.
India vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan stressed that Bangladesh have improved as a cricketing nation over the years and are doing well in all three departments of the game "Hats off to them for the way they have played here and got into the final. They are a team who know their strengths and play accordingly," Dhawan said.
Regarding the strategy the Indian team will adopt in the final, Dhawan said: "The conditions here will remain the same, the opposition is different. We will study each batsman and each bowler before we lay down our plans for the final."
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza praised his team's fielding effort in the tournament so far, but stressed on the need to do better in batting and bowling. "We fielded very well. For a long time, we haven't seen this quality in our fielding. So, hopefully the boys can understand the value of good fielding in the final game too. We still need to improve a bit on our batting and bowling. We don't have Shakib and Tamim, but hopefully the boys can show their character on Friday," he said.
India, of course, will have to emerge from their mucked-up chase against Afghanistan and begin with renewed confidence and vigour. It is the Indian middle-order that is a concern. Before the Afghanistan match, they were untested, but they faltered when they were put under pressure. The two run-outs and a couple of poor decisions from the umpires meant that things went wrong for India and they just about managed to tie the match.
The return of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will bolster the bowling attack. With three spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to back them up, the bowling unit looks quite formidable. But the Indians will have to get their act together and keep their wits about them, which they failed to do against Afghanistan on Tuesday.
Bangladesh are known to choke in big games, and have lost matches from winning positions, beginning with the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals against India. Dhawan said: "They will overcome that barrier ultimately. But hopefully we will win tomorrow."
Also read: Asia Cup 2018: Don't want to get fined by commenting on umpires, says MS Dhoni
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