Asia Cup 2018: The Team of the Tournament

Six continental powerhouses, 13 thrilling games and 14 riveting days of anticipation later, we finally have India as the Asian champions. The final was an edge of the seat thriller, with fortunes changing every moment. However, what followed before that was some highly entertaining contests, some of them going right down to the wire.

There were some shocks and upsets, with some defining statements made by sides like Hong Kong and Afghanistan. However the tournament was also defined by some individual brilliance that won the hearts of the cricketing fraternity. We compile the team of the tournament, consisting of these individual talents who stood out:

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#1 Openers

Rohit Sharma (Captain- India)

Rohit Sharma was sensational in the tournament, both as a batsman and as a captain. He batted with great responsibility at the top of the order, and ensured that he finished the games for his team. He took his time to get accustomed to the conditions, allowing his partner attack initially.

Once he was on song, Rohit ripped apart everything that came in his zone. He also made some crucial bowling changes and field placements with an attacking mindset and ensured that the opposition is put under continuous pressure as a leader. Hitman ended as the second highest scorer in the tournament, with 317 runs. Sharma became the third fastest Indian and fifth fastest overall to score 7000 runs in ODI Cricket.

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Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Dhawan, along with compatriot Rohit, formed a destructive opening pair for India. He showed his dominance in white ball cricket after having a lacklustre England tour. The southpaw came out all guns blazing, and gave his team invaluable starts to the innings. Dhawan scored at a brisk pace, giving time to his captain to settle in and kept the scoreboard moving. He scored 2 blistering centuries in the games against Hong Kong and Pakistan. Dhawan finished as the highest run scorer of the tournament, with 342 runs from 5 matches and was the Player of the Tournament.

#2 Middle Order

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

Shoaib Malik, the most experienced batsman in the Pakistani line up, played an anchor’s role in the unsettled middle order. He was the reason behind Pakistan’s win in the close contest against Afghanistan as he showcased his vast experience, keeping his calm till the last over and took his team across the line. The 36-year-old played calculative knocks in a bid to stabilise the innings, but could not solicit contributions from other batsmen. Malik also played his part in holding the ends together in the two games against India after the top order failed to score.

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Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)

Mushfiqur Rahim was the mainstay of the Bangladeshi batting line up in the absence of pillars like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan. He batted with a proactive approach and provided stability to the innings on numerous occasions, after coming in at precarious situations. Rahim was at his sublime best apart from the two games against India.

He provided a blistering start to the tournament by amassing a personal best and the second highest score in the Asia Cup (144). He was also instrumental in setting up a summit clash against India with his calculative knock of 99 against Pakistan in the virtual semi-final. Rahim struggled with his fitness throughout the tournament, as a result of which I have not selected him as the team's wicketkeeper.

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Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan)

Shahidi was undoubtedly the best Afghan batsman in the Asia Cup. The southpaw steered his team out of precarious situations numerous times and gelled extremely well with the lower middle order to give a good finish to the innings. His valuable knocks in the group stage enabled Afghanistan to oust Sri Lanka and pip Bangladesh to top Group B. Shahidi played a sensational knock of 97* against Pakistan in the midst of adversities and almost took his team to victory.

#3 Lower Middle Order

MS Dhoni (Wicketkeeper- India)

MS Dhoni did not get many opportunities to showcase his talent with the bat, but was highly accurate behind the stumps once again, making precise DRS calls and guiding the spinners in their endeavours. The players benefited greatly from the experience of the 37-year-old in the games against Hong Kong and Afghanistan. MS was also highly efficient as the captain in the game against the Afghans.

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Ravindra Jadeja (India)

Sir Jadeja returned to limited overs circuit after a year, coming in as a replacement for Hardik Pandya. However, he was quick to assert his dominance, as the all-rounder bagged the Man of the Match honours in the comeback game against Bangladesh, running through their middle order with 4 wickets. Jaddu was brilliant in the following games against Pakistan and Afghanistan as well, also exhibiting his temperament with the willow as he almost took his cross the line in the finals.

#4 Spinners

Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)

The 20-year-old Afghan created ripples through his breakthrough performances in the Asia Cup. The linchpin of the bowling attack, Rashid lived up to the expectations as he picked up crucial scalps to place his team at the top of Group A. He was also sensational in the close games against Pakistan as he restricted the flow of runs to take the pressure back to the opposition, although he could not win the game for the side. Rashid bowled the crucial over towards the end against India and secured a thrilling tie for his side.

The leggie ended as the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with 10 scalps from 5 games.

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Kuldeep Yadav (India)

The man with the golden arm for India for quite some time now, Kuldeep got the better of the best of the opposition batsmen, something which has now become his characteristic. The chinaman provided openings to his team with his accurate line and length. Kuldeep ensured that India picked wickets at regular intervals, and his performance also allowed the remaining bowlers to execute their modus operandi. Kuldeep became the fastest Indian to 50 ODI wickets in this tournament.

Kuldeep was the highest-wicket taker in the final as he got the better of centurion Liton Das, captain Mashrafe and the hard hitting Mahmadullah. He ended up as the highest wicket-taker for India.

#5 Fast Bowlers

Jasprit Bumrah (India)

The 'yorker king' was at his best in the Asia Cup, with his disciplined approach making him equally lethal upfront and at the death. Bumrah kicked off his first three games with a maiden and did not allow the opposition batsmen to open their arms in the powerplay overs. Bumrah exhibited his prowess at the death in the Super Four contest against Pakistan, containing the set batsmen in the death overs with his mastery over the cherry, as he completely demolished Pakistan’s plans of a challenging total. Bumrah ended up as the second highest Indian wicket-taker in the tournament, even after being rested for tow games.

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Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh)

Mustafizur Rahman was the spearhead of the Bangladeshi pace attack. In a tournament and turf that did not have much for the fast bowlers, The Fizz ended up with 8 wickets in the 6 games he played, being the joint second highest wicket-taker. He was particularly impressive in the virtual semi-final against Pakistan, as he cleaned up 4 opposition batsmen with his brilliance. The 23-yea- old also held his nerve in the final and brought his team to the brink of victory.