- Final, Asia Cup in Dubai
India beat a spirited Bangladesh by three wickets in a last-ball finish of the final in Dubai on Friday to retain the Asia Cup.
Liton Das scored a maiden one-day international hundred as Bangladesh were bowled out for 222 in 48.3 overs before India survived a middle-order slump to chase down the target for the loss of seven wickets in 50 overs at Dubai stadium.
Skipper Rohit Sharma top-scored with 48 while Dinesh Karthik made 37 and Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 36.
Bangladesh innings
After Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first, Mehidy Hasan and Liton Das opened the innings for Bangladesh, whereas Bhuveshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah shared the new ball for India.
While the Indian pace pair’s opening spells had almost always troubled opposing pairs in the tournament, Hasan and Das had few such problems.
Das, in particular, seemed in fine nick, smacking Kumar for back-to-back boundaries in the 4th over, which forced Indian captain Rohit Sharma to introduced spin earlier than he’d have liked.
By the end of 5 overs, Bangladesh were 33-0 and looking quite comfortable.
Das went after Yuzvendra Chahal in the 8th over, launching him for two maximums and accelerate the scoring.The usually reliable Bumrah was also struggling against the Bangla basher; he was hit for a four in the 9th.
With Das on a roll, Hasan did the right thing by playing the facilitator rather than attempting to replicate what his partner was doing so well on the other hand.
At the end of the 10th over, Bangladesh were 65-0, with Das having raced to 47 off just 31 balls.
Following a brief lull, Das struck Jadeja for a 4 to open the 12 over — bowled by Ravindra Jadeja — before being dropped by Chahal two balls later.
Hasan drove Kuldeep Yadav for a four in the 15th, at the end of which the scoreboard read 86-0.
Das edged one to the third-man boundary to bring up Bangladesh’s 100 in the 18th over, following which the teams took a drinks break.
Das played two fantastic sweep shots in the 20th over bowled by Jadeja and entered his 80s but the next over saw his opening partner Hasan depart as Indian finally found the elusive breakthrough.
