Asia Cup 2018 memories: Cricket was the ultimate winner

Indian openers make merry

Rohit and Dhawan - The openers of the tournament

When Pakistan put 237 runs on the board against India in the super four match, everyone thought that with the kind of bowling resources at their disposal, they could run India close. But both the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Dhawan decided to simultaneously showcase their talent in the same innings.

Both Rohit and Dhawan scored hundreds to make a mockery of the chase. The only wicket that fell for India in the innings was through a run-out. Such was India’s domination.

Heartbreak for Afghanistan again

The super four match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan was a must-win for both the teams. Both the teams wanted to win the toss and bat first. But at that crucial juncture, Afghanistan ran out of luck. Bangladesh batted first and were in trouble at 87 for 5. At that stage, Afghanistan let the game slip and Rashid Khan was ineffective for the first time in the tournament.

Bangladesh managed to recover to 249 for 7 through contributions from Mahmudullah (74) and Imrul Kayes (72).

A target of 250 was a tall order for Afghanistan but they fought valiantly only to lose by 3 runs. Mustafizur Rahman defended 8 runs in the last over. Afghanistan had their second heartbreak in 2 days.

The tie

The super four match between India and Afghanistan will be remembered for so many things. India had already qualified for the finals and Afghanistan were out of the tournament. India experimented with their team composition by making 5 changes. This had narrowed the gap between the two teams.

Mohammad Shahzad - The spirit of Afghanistan Cricket

Dhoni was captaining India for the 200th time. This match will be remembered for the astonishing innings of 124 by Mohammad Shahzad. He took the inexperienced Indian bowling attack apart by hitting 11 fours and 7 sixes. Afghanistan set India a target of 253 to win. In the end, that target proved to be exactly enough to tie the match.

It was a strange coincidence that both Dhoni’s first (T20) match as captain and last match as captain ended in a tie.

For Afghanistan, it was a fitting end to the tournament in which they had comprehensively beaten Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and came so close to beating both India and Pakistan.

The virtual semi-final

The last super four match between Pakistan and Bangladesh was a virtual semi-final. The winners of that match would meet India in the final. Junaid Khan and Shaheen Afridi reduced Bangladesh to 12 for 3 before Bangladesh recovered through Mushifiqur Rahim (99) and Mohammad Mithun (60) to reach 239.

A target of 240 proved too much for Pakistan as they crashed out for 202.