3 reasons why India will win the Asia Cup 2018

India winning Asia cup
India have a great chance to win the title this time too

The Asia Cup which is set to begin from 15th of September will be played in the UAE this time around. It will follow the usual one-day format and will feature 6 teams playing 13 matches with the tournament following a round-robin format.

The 6 teams that will be participating are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and a qualifier team who will be decided after the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifiers. India has won this cup 5 times in the one-day format, and they share this record with Sri Lanka.

Interestingly, the record still sits with India if we count the one Asia Cup win that came in the T20 format in 2016. So will this time around be India's 7th title in the absence of Virat Kohli?

Here are 3 reasons why India can win it this time as well.


#1 Settled Batting Order

India has had a pretty solid and consistent top order in the form of Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli. So, with rest given to Kohli for this series KL Rahul will bat at the number 3 position, which will help cement his spot in the one-day format.

Manish Pandey, with the form he is in, should be coming in to bat at 4 and it will help in stabilizing the middle order.MS Dhoni should occupy the number 5 position as he is not the finisher that he used to be in the past.

The rest of the batting positions should select itself with Kedar coming in at 6 and Hardik Pandya doing his all-rounder's bit at 7, which pretty much seals the deal for India in terms of their depth in batting.

#2 India's Strong Bowling Reserves

Bhuvneshwar And Bumrah are India's main strike bowlers
Bhuvneshwar And Bumrah are India's main strike bowlers

India's bowlers including the bench are a pretty strong unit. The pace of Bumrah and accuracy of Bhuvi makes for a lethal combination against any top side in the world.

The spin twins Kuldeep and Chahal have also been tremendously successful at casting a web around the best of the players in the world. The miserly spells by them strangulate even the best of batting lineups.

This optimum combination of pace and spin have made India achieve major successes in their campaigns in South Africa and England. This potent attack will be in their elements to run riot against any opposition side in the world.

#3 Ability to come out on top in crunch moments

England v India - 3rd Vitality International T20
The Indians flourish under pressure

This is something that has come to define the Indian Cricket Team over the years. They have become battle-hardened due to the player's experience in IPL. This has helped the team in not losing the calm heads present on their shoulders during crunch moments.

India, unlike its arch-rivals Pakistan and Bangladesh are not known to crumble under pressure during the crucial matches. It is all thanks to Dhoni's calmness and also Virat Kohli's unreal chasing prowess.

The Champions Trophy Final will say otherwise, but that in all likelihood that was just one bad day for the Indian Team. It is not to say that teams like Pakistan always crumble as they proved otherwise during that fateful day, but it makes for an exciting contest between bat and ball.

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Edited by Sarah Waris