Asia Cup 2018: - Top 5 Bowlers in the Tournament

Asia Cup 2018 ended in an enthralling fashion and Team India successfully defended their title to claim their 7th title in 14 editions. In the modern era where 350+ totals are becoming a norm in the ODI format, not even a single team scored more than 300 in the entire tournament.

Bowlers made full use of conditions and restricted opponents which made life easier for their batting departments. We have a look at top five bowlers in the tournament, who did exceedingly well in crunch situations.

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#5 Kedar Jadhav : Matches - 6 / Wickets - 6 / Avg. - 23.17 / Economy - 3.97 / SR - 35.00

Kedar Jadhav's ability with ball was one of the main reasons for his inclusion in the playing eleven. He continued that trend in his comeback series with some match turning spells in the Asia Cup. Though he took only 6 wickets in six matches, all those wickets were match-changing ones.

Kedar Jadhav

Even in the final, when Bangladesh had a terrific start, Jadhav broke Bangla's opening stand and initiated their downfall. He had some big wickets in the tourney like Mohammad Shahzad who had already scored a century, Mushfiqur Rahim in the final and Sarfraz Ahmed in a group match.

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#4 Rashid Khan : Matches - 5 / Wickets - 10 / Avg. - 17.20 / Economy - 3.73 / SR - 27.70

Rashid Khan

The Afghanistan sensation continued his magic in the Asia Cup as well. But this time he didn't have to do it all on his own, as all of his teammates chipped in with wickets as well. His birthday heroics against Bangladesh was a major highlight of the tournament. In that match he just conceded just 13 runs in nine overs and picked two wickets.

He kept his nerve in the final over against India as well, to ensure that the match ended in a tie.

#3 Kuldeep Yadav : Matches - 6 / Wickets - 10 / Avg. - 23.70 / Economy - 4.09 / SR - 34.80

Kuldeep Yadav backed his UK tour heroics with another brilliant performance in the Asia Cup, following which he became the world no. 3 in the ODI format. Whenever his captain needed a wicket, Keldeep delivered. He continued to bamboozle batsmen with his uncanny action.

Kuldeep Yadav

In the opening match, he ended Hong Kong's mammoth opening stand and paved the way for victory. In the final he scalped the crucial wicket of centurion Liton Das to end with 3 wickets in the summit clash.

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#2 Jasprit Bumrah : Matches - 4 / Wickets - 8 / Avg. - 16.00 / Economy - 3.67 / SR - 26.12

The number one bowler in ODI format made a terrific comeback in white ball cricket after a finger injury ruled him out for a major portion of the UK tour. He was sensational at the death throughout the tournament. In the final overs, he conceded just 29 runs in the whole tournament.

He bowled outstanding spells in both the matches against Pakistan. In the final, after an inconsistent start to the innings, he came back at the end and finished things off with a brilliant display of death bowling. He conceded just 3.67 runs per over.

--> In Asia Cup, Bumrah figures in death overs : Balls - 59, Runs - 29, Wickets - 7

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#1 Mustafizur Rahman : Matches - 5 / Wickets - 10 / Avg. - 18.50 / SR - 25.20

'Fizz' was back to his best in the Asia Cup. In recent times, he missed many series due to injuries but when he was fit, he showed his importance in Bangladesh's bowling attack. Like Bumrah, he is also exceptional and unplayable in the death overs.

'Fizz' Mustafizur Rahman

In a must win match against Afghanistan, he defended 8 runs in the final over to seal a thrilling win for Bangladesh. In the next match against Pakistan, he picked up four wickets. Again in the final against India, his penultimate over kept Bangladesh in the hunt until the last ball. All these mesmerizing performances made Fizz Number One on this list.