Asia Cup 2018: India vs Bangladesh final: 3 unnoticed things in the first 15 overs

Rohit Sharma & Co clearly had the edge over Bangladesh ahead of the Asia Cup finale. But Bangladesh, inserted in by India, had their own plans to tackle the Bhuvi-Bumrah threat. What was that?

#1 Makeshift opener Mehidy Hasan fires

India, probably, had planned for dashing opening batsman Sowmya Sarkar. But Bangladesh surprised everyone by sending a gritty 20-year-old Mehidy Hasan. The allrounder has been exceptional as an off-spinner with the new ball right throughout the series showcasing exemplary control in the powerplay.

Hasan, who averages 18.77 in 16 ODIs, has shown potential with the bat in the past. The diminutive Mehidy showed no nerves whatsoever as he provided his team the best start of the series alongside an aggressive Liton Das.

#2 Das vs Chahal

With Bhuvi and Bumrah taken of their lengths by the Bangla opening pair, Rohit went to his lead spinner Yuzvendra Chahal as early as the sixth over. The crafty leggie tied down the openers in his first over conceding only three runs. Das decided to take charge of things against Chahal in the eighth over. He went inside the line and whacked one over backward square-leg for a six and then cleared his front leg to deposit the leggie over wide long-on as Chahal conceded 16 runs in his second over. Das raced to his 50 off just 33 balls with a cracking cover drive off Ravindra Jadeja.

#3 Inconsistent bowling & dropped catch

It seemed as if India were waiting for Bangladesh to make a mistake instead of plotting their dismissal. Bumrah and Bhuvi strayed down the legs frequently. There was the odd full toss which the Bangla batsmen took full advantage of. India used all their regular bowlers - five of them - inside the first 15 overs. But India couldn’t get the breakthrough. Rohit & Co had their moment. Das, soon after reaching his fifty, miscued a slog only for Chahal to drop it at mid-wicket. Rohit and Jadeja were visibly unhappy. Bangladesh stormed to 86/0 in 15 overs.