Asia Cup 2018: 7 reasons behind India's last-ball win over Bangladesh in the final

6. The Partnership between Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni

Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik were involved in a crucial partnership

The fall of Rohit’s wicket brought MS Dhoni to the crease. One more wicket at that stage would have opened the floodgates. Dhoni hasn’t been in good form with the bat and has been struggling to rotate the strike, especially against the spinners.

But Dhoni kept aside his poor form and stayed put with Dinesh Karthik to add 54 crucial runs for the 4th wicket off 71 balls. They were slow but that partnership was the need of that hour. Both Karthik and Dhoni ensured that there would be no immediate success for Bangladesh after the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket.

7. The partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Jadeja and Bhuvi put on 45 runs

Dhoni got out at the wrong time when India still needed 63 runs for a win. Immediately after that, Kedar Jadhav had to retire hurt. This brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the crease. Bhuvi has proved time and again that he is an intelligent cricketer and a decent batsman as well.

Bhuvi, along with Jadeja, added 45 crucial runs. They started off the partnership with quick singles and once they got set, they started scoring quickly. They were always in control of the situation and never panicked. They never allowed the required run rate to go beyond 5. Jadeja scored 23 off 33 with one four. Bhuvi made 21 off 31 with one four and a six. While Jadeja showed a lot of patience, Bhuvi was aggressive and even managed to hit a four off the ever accurate Mustafizur Rahman. Bhuvi had the courage to step out and hit Rubel Hossain over his head for a six.

It was a pity that both Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got out before India could reach the target. In the end, it was left to the injured Kedar Jadhav to finish off the match with Kuldeep Yadav.

A special mention has to be made about the efforts of the injured Jadhav. He had a problem with his right hamstring which restricted his movements at the crease and to rotate the strike. Despite the agony, Jadhav stayed till the very end to take India home. He remained unbeaten on 23 off 27 balls and his performance as an all-rounder, in the end, proved to be the difference between both the two teams in the closely fought final.