India-Bangladesh rivalry: Revisiting the previous finals

Two Asian neighbours have battled out two tournament finals so far, here is a recollection of both before they fight out the Asia Cup 2018 Final tomorrow

The final of the Asia Cup 2018 is upon us and contrary to the popular expectations, it’s Bangladesh who have forced their way in the encounter against India, throwing out Pakistan. Bangladesh managed to defeat Pakistan by 37 runs in the last match of the Super Four round to achieve their third appearance in the final of the Asia Cup.

They now confront India, who have been undefeated in the tournament so far.

India and Bangladesh have battled against each other 34 times on ODI cricket and the overall record favours the blue side who have won 28 matches while Bangladesh have gone on to upset the giants on five occasions. In neutral conditions, India lead 11-1. The sole loss was the humiliating defeat that crashed India’s 2007 World Cup campaign.

Even in the Asia Cup, India have an upper hand over Bangladesh with a tremendous record of 10-1 over the last 30 years. As we look ahead to the Asia Cup final on 28th September, here is a recollection of India taking on Bangladesh in the tournament finals.

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1. Asia Cup 2016 Final, T20I, 6th March 2016

India defeated Bangladesh in the final of the Asia Cup 2016

The Asia Cup 2016 was played in the T20I format and was hosted by Bangladesh themselves. Bangladesh, in the group round, upstaged both Sri Lanka and Pakistan to end up at the second spot thus setting up the final of the tournament against India who had won all four of their encounters.

The final at Dhaka was under great threat as a summer thunderstorm lashed out just before the start of play. The ground staff readied the ground, despite such calamity, and the match was reduced to 15-overs each. India’s captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field first.

After a quick-start from Soumya Sarkar, Bangladesh lost their way as they lost both their openers within the first five overs. Sabbir Rehman and Shakib Al Hasan stitched a 34-run rebuilding partnership but by the end of 12th over, Bangladesh were languishing at 75/5. Demoted to number seven, Mahmudullah came out swinging hard and with his belligerent 33 from 13 balls carried the host nation to the score of 120/5 after 15 overs.

In reply, India lost their opener, Rohit Sharma, in the second over. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli set about the rebuilding work and put together a 94-run partnership for the second wicket, leaving India with 22 runs to win from 14 balls.

Captain MS Dhoni then stole the show with a stormy knock of 20 runs from six balls and finished off the match with a characteristic six.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 120/5 in 15 overs (Mahmudullah 33*, S Rehman 32*, J Bumrah 13/1, R Ashwin 14/1) lost to India 121/2 in 13.5 overs (S Dhawan 60, Kohli 41*, MS Dhoni 20*, T Ahmed 14/1) by eight wickets.

#2. Nidahas Trophy 2018 Final, T20I, 18th March 2018

Dinesh Karthik struck the match-winning six in Nidahas Trophy Final

The Nidahas Trophy 2018 was the tri-series tournament played between host Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh to celebrate Sri Lanka’s 70th year of independence. India lost their opening match to the hosts but came back strong to win all three remaining matches. Bangladesh conceded defeats against India but with two wins over Sri Lanka qualified for the final.

India’s Captain Rohit Sharma inserted Bangladesh to bat first. His decision was vindicated as Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar reduced the Bangla tigers to 33/3 in the first five overs. Sabbir Rehman subsequently took the centre stage with his spectacular knock of 77 from 50 balls and with Mehidy Hasan’s 19 from seven balls, Bangladesh ended at 166/8 in 20 overs.

Captain Rohit Sharma led India’s reply with a brilliant 56 from 42 balls while Bangladesh bowlers kept chipping away at wickets from the other end. By the end of the 17th over, India needed 35 runs from 18 balls. Mustafizur Rehman bowled an exceptional over where he conceded only a single run and picked up the wicket of Manish Pandey.

The dismissal brought Dinesh Karthik at the crease. He straight away smashed 22 runs in the next over of Rubel Hossain and now India needed 12 runs to win from the last over of Soumya Sarkar. Dinesh Karthik was back on strike for the last ball where India five runs to win. The keeper-batsman smashed it for a memorable six to pull off one of the most miraculous wins for India.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 166/8 in 20 overs (S Rehman 77, Mahmudullah 21, Y Chahal 18/3) lost to India 168/6 in 20 overs (R Sharma 56, D Karthik 29*, R Hossain 35/2) by four wickets.