Asia Cup 2018: India Shouldn't Have Taken the Final to Last Ball - VVS Laxman

Former Team India batsman VVS Laxman congratulated Team India after they won their seventh Asia Cup title across formats after beating Bangladesh by three wickets. India was able to get a single off the final delivery of the match to seal the deal. It was the Men in Blue who prevailed in a nail-biting thriller in the end as Kedar Jadhav got the leg-byes to hand India another Asia Cup title.

However, Bangladesh put up a valiant fight and took the match to the final delivery which in itself is a huge achievement. Laxman congratulated both the teams but felt India shouldn’t have taken the match to the final delivery.

Laxman congratulates India.

“Congratulations to India on an unprecedented seventh Asia Cup title, but how I wish they had not provided so many heart-stopping moments! Congratulations, too, to Bangladesh for having put up a brilliant fight despite the disappointment of a batting meltdown that left them defending a modest total,” Laxman wrote in his column for the Times of India.

Meanwhile, VVS Laxman was of the opinion that the middle order hasn’t quite risen to the occasion. Hence the problems in the middle order are visible for everyone. They don’t have a proper set of batters who can consistently provide runs in the middle overs. In the absence of Virat Kohli, India found it most difficult.

“India’s triumph, however, will not paper over the cracks that continue to exist. Over the last 18 months, the settled top-three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Virat Kohli has been doing the bulk of the scoring, which is what you would want in ODI cricket. Invariably, one of them has batted deep into the innings and got the job done. But on the odd occasion when the middle-order has been required to apply the finishing touches, it hasn’t exactly fired on all cylinders. Friday night was another instance of taking a regulation chase all the way down to the wire,” Laxman said.

India was able to tick the right boxes.

During the final, India was in a comfortable position till Rohit Sharma was going all guns blazing. He scored a 48 before departing to Rubel Hossain. It opened the floodgates as India lost more wickets in no time. MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik were kept quiet by the bowlers.

“Till such time that Rohit was laying into the Bangladesh bowling, India looked headed for another easy victory. However, the moment the captain was dismissed, there was a visible change in Bangladesh’s attitude. Mashrafe Mortaza rang in the bowling changes expertly, like Rohit had done earlier in the afternoon, and his fast bowlers – the outstanding Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman and Mortaza himself – bowled a relentless stump-to-stump line that tied up Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni,” Laxman said.

VVS Laxman lauded both the teams.

“Meanwhile, the required rate never got out of hand, the pressure was slowly building. Both men got out after getting their eye in with the target some distance away. MS probably suffering a rare lapse in concentration owing maybe to Kedar Jadhav’s hamstring injury”.

Fortunately, the calmness of Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bailed India out. A limping Kedar boldly returned to apply the finishing touches. There was, though, no way the match should have gone to the final delivery, not when India needed 140 more in 200 deliveries with seven wickets standing when Rohit was dismissed,” Laxman further added.

It was a convincing win for India in the Asia Cup as they had dominated most of their matches. India will now take on Windies in the two-match Test series.