Asia Cup 2018: 3 reasons why India will defend their title

It has been rather a clinical tournament as far as Team India is concerned. Without the services of their regular skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma has handled the mantle of the skipper well.

The cricketing world was looking forward to the clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan in this tournament, but sadly, both the games between the sides proved to be damp squibs. India completely dominated proceedings forcing former Pakistan great Wasim Akram to term the team's Champions trophy win ‘a fluke’.

In a tournament which saw the magnificent rise of Afghanistan coupled with the steep decline in Sri Lanka’s cricket, India have maintained the equilibrium. This tournament gave them the opportunity to test their bench strength, and they have performed well.

They had a minor scare against a buoyant Afghanistan where the fragility in the middle order was exposed to an extent. But on that day, Afghanistan were truly magnificent, and it won’t be wrong to say that India were up against a formidable opposition and that a tie was a fair result.

Heading into the finals to be played on 28th September 2018 against Bangladesh, in a repeat of the 2016 Asia Cup, here’s looking at why India will defend their Asia Cup title:

---

The performance of their openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma

India have been bolstered by their attacking and threatening opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. It’s surprising to see how Shikhar Dhawan put aside a rather forgettable tour of England behind him this quickly.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have done the bulk of the scoring for India in recent times and that has been the main reason for their success in this format. The way they take control of the innings, be it while batting first or chasing down a target, can dampen the spirits of the opposition.

In the four matches played in the Unimoni Asia Cup 2018, Rohit and Shikhar are in the top three run scorers for the tournament. While Shikhar Dhawan leads the pack with 327 runs at an average of 81.75 with two centuries, Rohit Sharma has amassed 269 runs at an average of 134.50 with a century.

Bangladesh would certainly need to put their best foot forward if they must stop these two from going on a rampage. One thing is for sure- if these two bat for a considerable amount of time, then most likely India will be on the driving seat.

The overall confidence and morale of the team is high

Team India

Despite the overly crammed schedule of theirs, India sent almost a full-strength squad for the Asia Cup 2018. Led by skipper Rohit Sharma, they have managed to push aside any doubts with regards to players fatigue with some good results.

A lot of players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ambati Rayudu, Kedhar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja were returning to the ODI team after a while and that freshness and eagerness to compete was visible in their individual performances.

India had a rude awakening against Hong Kong where they managed to avoid a huge embarrassment. But post that performance, each player has put his hand up and has delivered. The batsmen have ensured good totals are put for the bowlers to defend.

Heading into the finals, it’s all about how well the team plays on the big day. With India’s exposure to such games being much more than their opponents, they should be able to carry forward their positive morale into this crucial encounter.

India’s spin bowlers have been clinical and miserly

Ravindra Jadeja has made a fantastic comeback

In important in tournaments like these, where the matches are played on slow and turning pitches, the bowlers need to step up and deliver. As more than putting up the big scores, it’s important for the bowlers and specifically the spinners to come good.

And that’s exactly what has happened for India in this tournament thus far. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been miserly with economy rates of 4.00 and 4.61 respectively. They have ensured that the opponents don’t score too many runs in the middle overs.

Ravindra Jadeja and Kedhar Jadhav have been the wicket-takers for India in this series. Jadeja, on his return, is staking a claim to make it to the World Cup squad as he has grabbed 7 wickets in 3 matches at an impressive economy rate of 4.31.

Also, most opposition teams have found it hard to negotiate the surprise package Kedhar Jadhav. To their credit, India have used him smartly to reap the rewards.

In the finals, how well the Bangladesh batsmen handle the spinners of India and vice-versa, would go on to decide the eventual champions of Asia Cup 2018.