Asia Cup Final 2018- India vs Bangladesh: 4 factors which could determine the fate of the match

#2 Performance of the Indian openers

Shikhar Dhawan

The Indian openers have been in red-hot form in the Asia Cup. Shikhar Dhawan is one of the contenders for winning the Player of the Tournament prize after scoring a couple of centuries. He has scored 327 runs at an average of 81.75 in the Asia Cup so far. Skipper Rohit Sharma has also scored a lot of runs including a ton. The openers have given India a blistering start in almost all of the matches and should back themselves to repeat the feat in the final.

Bangaldesh’s new-ball bowlers will have their task cut out against Dhawan and Rohit. However, their strategy of starting with a spinner could come in handy against India. Mehedi Hasan was very impressive against Pakistan and could pose some problems to India. He uses the width of the crease very well and often bowls from a wide angle. He could especially be effective against the left-handed Dhawan.

Also, Bangladeshi pacers should not bowl too many short deliveries against the Indian openers who are both very strong off their back-foot. Rohit is also very strong on the onside and would enjoy playing strokes off his legs.