Asia Cup 2018 Final, Ind vs Ban: Will Bangladesh get third-time lucky?

In the Asia Cup 2018 Final, Rohit Sharma’s India will clash with Masrafe Mortaza-led Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium in the United Arab Emirates today. India will be aiming to reassert their continental supremacy while an injury-hit Bangladesh will hope to shrug off stage fright in the summit clash.

To check India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup 2018 Final Live score CLICK HERE

A passionate Bangladesh turned out to be spoilsport on Wednesday as they wrecked the prospects of an India-Pakistan summit clash with a gutsy performance, despite losing key players to injury. India are expected to play their full-strength playing 11 after a surprising tie against Afghanistan in their last Super Four match on Tuesday.

On paper, India will remain clear favourites to win the tournament for a record seventh time, while Bangladesh will be hoping to get third-time lucky in today's summit clash.

The final match of any tournament is a one-off game in complete isolation from how a team has performed in the rest of the tournament. Even the most consistent teams have slipped on the proverbial banana peel when it has mattered the most. Add to this the fact that the Indo-Bangla cricketing rivalry has grown in intensity in recent years.

Injury woes for Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2018

But what is definitely a dampener for Bangladesh heading into the final is the injury that the side is facing. Star batsman Tamim Iqbal is already out with a fractured hand, and top all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan has suffered a finger injury. He is expected to undergo a surgery; that will also force him out of the home series against Zimbabwe starting September 30.

India Team news

A victory in the Asia Cup without their skipper and best batsman Virat Kohli will be a big statement going into ICC World Cup 2019.  After resting five regulars during a wake-up call from Afghanistan in their tied Super Four encounter, the order is expected to be restored in the summit clash. The crack opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy Shikhar Dhawan is expected to be back at the top of the order while Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal are expected bolster the bowling.

A lot will depend on the opening stand provided by Rohit (269 runs) and Shikhar (327 runs) as the middle order has looked shaky at times. Ambati Rayudu looked set in all the games but has not finished off well while Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have struggled in middle overs. 

Dhoni's struggle is the biggest worry as a total of 240 plus could prove to be challenging on a slow track if the team bats second. The only match where the Indian middle order was tested was the Afghanistan game where they came a cropper despite a century opening stand by the makeshift pair of KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu. A significant batting contribution from Dhoni is expected as he might again come in at No.4 in order to face more deliveries.

Bangladesh cricket news

The Bangladesh bowling attack is one of the most potent in 50 over cricket with Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, and Mashrafe Mortaza ready to test batting line-ups. Mustafizur has a lot of tricks up his sleeve while Mashrafe's experience comes in handy. However, not having Shakib in the line-up could prove to be a major setback for the side. In batting, the team will bank heavily on the ever-dependable Mushfiqur Rahim, who has been the 'crisis man' along with the very stylish Mahmudullah Riyadh. They will be challenged by an in-form Jasprit Bumrah. Tackling the guile of Kuldeep Yadav, deception of Yuzvendra Chahal and probing questions from Ravindra Jadeja will also be quite a task for the Bangladesh line-up.

Here are the playing 11 probables of both the teams:

India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah

Bangladesh playing 11: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmadullah, Imrul Kayes, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan

Asia Cup 2018 India vs Bangladesh match live streaming details

The India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup Final match will be broadcast on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD. It will be available for live streaming on Hotstar app. Tatasky subscribers can also watch the match on Tatasky mobile app.

India vs Bangladesh toss prediction

Four out of six result matches in the tournament here have witnessed wins for the side batting second, so expect the toss to play an important role again.