Asia Cup 2018, Final- India vs Bangladesh : Match Prediction

After a few days of intense battle in the Asia Cup, we are all down to the final day of the tournament as India and Bangladesh are all set to fight it out for the coveted title. India has been the most dominant team in the tournament by far. Hence there is no doubt about the fact that they will start as the outright favourites of the match. However, Bangladesh is no pushovers and have proved over the years that they cannot be taken lightly. Qualifying for the final is an achievement and they will surely look to win their maiden Asia Cup title.

India will be bolstered with the return of five of their frontline players who were rested from the previous match against Afghanistan. At the top of the order, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will take the charge yet again.

The duo shared a huge partnership of 210 runs and struck centuries against Pakistan in the previous Super Four clash and ensured India reached the required target of 238 with utmost ease in the end. The middle order has also performed quite well in the tournament so far.

India might play KL Rahul ahead of Dinesh Karthik

For the first time in the tournament, the skipper Rohit Sharma might well be tempted to play KL Rahul ahead of Dinesh Karthik. Rahul scored a fluent half-century in the previous match against Afghanistan which was his first game of the tournament.

Bangladesh began their tournament with a resounding victory against Sri Lanka. However, they were jolted in their next two matches against Afghanistan and India. They suffered a 136 runs defeat at the hands of Afghanistan.

The Men in Blue strolled past them with utmost ease. For the Tigers, Mushfiqur Rahim has bailed them out of danger on quite a few occasions. He scored a magical 144 in the first match against Sri Lanka and then scored a match-winning 99 against Pakistan in the virtual semi-final. Mohammad Mithun has also supported him quite nicely.

The bowling department has been led well by Mustafizur Rahman. His magical final over against Afghanistan kept them in the tournament. Otherwise, they would have already been knocked out of the tournament.

The Men in Blue has a relatively straightforward campaign so far. They survived a scare in the opening match against Hong Kong. However, it was a minor hiccup as they came back strongly in the next three matches.

India should be wary of the fact that Bangladesh has some very good players in their ranks and has the ability to stage a major upset. But given the form, India has been in, it will be pretty difficult for the Bangla Tigers to stage an upset.

Team Combinations

India- There will be at least four changes from the previous encounter against Afghanistan. KL Rahul who played his first match the other day against Afghanistan might retain his place in the place of Dinesh Karthik. Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Manish Pandey won’t be a part of the playing XI for the final of the tournament.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Bangladesh- In the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar might well be added at the top of the order. His bowling skills will be important for the Bangla Tigers as Shakib won’t be available for the rest of the tournament.

Match Predictions

There is no doubt about the fact that the Men in Blue will start as the outright favourites. It has been a roller coaster ride for Bangladesh in the tournament so far. However, for India, it has been quite a contrast. They have made light work of most of their oppositions and in all likelihood, India will be favourites to win.