MIRPUR: The heavy showers did reduce the contest to 15-overs-a-side, but there was no dearth of excitement. The
Asia Cup T20 final
at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium witnessed a full house brave inclement weather to cheer the home side but left the scene teary-eyed and dejected. A 25,000-plus hostile crowd cheering each move of Bangladesh and a delayed start didn't deter favourites India who coasted to a comfortable 8-wicket win.
The chief architects of the triumph were
Shikhar Dhawan (60, 9x4, 1x6) and
Virat Kohli (41 n.o., 5x4) who ensured India were always in the hunt.
Chasing a tricky target of 121, India saw the back of Rohit Sharma (1) early, caught by Soumya Sarkar off Al-Amin Hossain. Dhawan started off tentatively, but grew in confidence once he hit two fours of Abu Hider (0-14), who came into the attack in the fifth over. While that over saw India accrue 14 runs, the subsequent over bowled by Shakib Al Hasan provided 15 to the visitors' total.
While Dhawan was using the pace of the bowlers to fetch those boundaries towards the third-man, Kohli pierced the gaps with needle precision. The Dhawan-Kohli duo added 94 from 11.1 overs to deflate the hosts. And when Dhawan was dismissed close to the target, skipper
MS Dhoni (20 n.o. 1x4, 2x6) ensured there were no more anxious moments with some typical hitting.
The first half of play saw Mahmudullah's (33 n.o, 2x4, 2x6) 13-ball blitz propel Bangladesh to 120 for 5 after India won the toss and inserted the hosts in. Mahmudullah targeted Hardik Pandya (0-35) in the penultimate over of the innings - taking 21 runs which included a four and two sixes that helped the hosts cross the 100-run mark. In the company of Sabbir Rahman (32 n.o., 2x4), Mahmudullah added a quickfire 45 runs off 20 deliveries for the sixth wicket. While Mahmudullah was on third gear from the start, Sabbir was happy to provide him maximum strike.
MS Dhoni's team did keep their opponents quiet for better part of the proceedings as R Ashwin (1-14), Jasprit Bumrah (1-13), Ravindra Jadeja (125) and Ashish Nehra (1-33) were among wickets. Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal (13, 2x4) and Soumya Sarkar (14, 3x4) did fire for a brief period before they were dismissed by Bumrah and Nehra respectively as the home team slipped to 30 for 2 in the 5th over. Shakib (21, 3x4) then added 34 in 4.3 overs with Sabbir for the third wicket, before India struck back. Earlier, the match was delayed by two hours after thunderstorms lashed the city. The rains saw a blackout in the ground for close to 30 minutes. The top-notch drainage facilities meant, it didn't take long for the groundsmen to get it match-ready.