DHAKA: Indian batting stars Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan performed when it mattered the most to help their side overpower the roaring tigers, Bangladesh by 8 wickets to lift the Asia Cup T20 title here at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday night.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 41 off 28 balls hitting 5 fours with captain MS Dhoni, who finished the match with a cameo of a 6-ball 20, smashing 1 four and 2 sixes.
Dhawan got out after scoring a superb 60 off 44 deliveries with 9 fours and a six. Rohit Sharma couldn’t perform for once getting out for just 1 in the second over.
Taskin Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain grabbed a wicket each for the hosts.
Earlier, Bangladesh top order contributed heavily in posting a challenging total of 120-5 in a rain-delayed 15-over a side encounter.
Mahmudullah smashed a fiery 33* off just 13 balls with 2 fours and as many sixes. He was assisted by almost all batsmen specially Sabbir Rahman who also remained not out at 32 (29).
Tamim Iqbal made 13, Soumya Sarkar 14 and Shakib Al-Hasan 21 to help post the hosts a massive 121 run target for the favourites India.
Ashwin, Nehra, Bumrah and Jadeja took a wicket each for India.
India had won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first in a rain-delayed match earlier.
Rain, coupled with gusty winds, had delayed the start of the final. Rain showered the stadium around 6:15pm local time, more than an hour before the scheduled start of the match.
Thousands of fans who spent hours in the queues to collect tickets for the match were drenched or forced to take shelter under the galleries due to the unexpected downpour.
A 20-minute power failure, which followed the rain, only made the matter worse as the connection to the flood-lights has yet to be restored.Hosts Bangladesh are hoping to cause a major upset in the final in Dhaka by spoiling favourites India’s preparations for the World Twenty20, which starts next week.
Top-ranked India crushed Mashrafe Mortaza’s side by 45 runs in the opening match of the tournament, but the hosts have since executed a turnaround, winning three matches on the trot to qualify for the final.
Bangladesh’s five-wicket win over Pakistan on Wednesday, watched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from a packed gallery, sparked jubilation in the cricket-mad nation.
India are five-times winners of the Asia Cup, which takes place every two years, although India’s winning meets were all held in the previous 50-over one-day international format.
MS Dhoni’s side — who have won nine of their last 10 Twenty20 internationals — will start the final as favourites, but the Indian captain said nothing could be taken for granted, especially in the shortest format of international cricket
