Dhoni’s men bring the Cup home

Mirpur, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli led the charge as India won the Asia Cup outclassing Bangladesh by eight wickets in the truncated 15-overs-a-side final at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Sunday evening.
Coming together after India got off to a poor start, Dhawan and Kohli produced a 94-run partnership as the visitors overhauled the 121-run target in 13.5 overs. Dhawan, who had been a flop until the final, found his touch when it mattered most, scoring 60 off 44 balls with nine boundaries and a six. Kohli remained unbeaten on 41 runs off 28 balls with five boundaries. India skipper MS Dhoni gave the finishing touch with 20 runs off just six deliveries, with one hit to the ropes and two sixes.
Pacer Al-Amin Hossain (1/30) gave Bangladesh some early hope by dismissing Rohit Sharma. Chasing a tricky target in front of a packed stadium, Rohit edged one that was moving slightly away to Soumya Sarkar at first slip. The dismissal brought in-form Kohli to the middle and he, along with Dhawan, pulled the visitors out of trouble. The Delhi duo kept the required run rate within manageable limits with regular hits to the fence and some excellent running between the wickets.
It needed a superb effort in the field by Sarkar off Taskin Ahmed’s (1/14) bowling to see the back of Dhawan. The Delhi batsman attempted a square drive off a full toss, but Sarkar dived to his right to pluck the ball inches off the ground. But by then, India were well on the road to victory and Dhoni strode in to finish off the job with some trademark power-packed hits.
Earlier, Mohammad Mahmudullah produced some lower-order fireworks as Bangladesh posted 120/5 in 15 overs. Walking in with Bangladesh in trouble at 75/5, the right-hander hit two boundaries and an equal number of sixes in his 13-ball innings to remain unbeaten on 33.
Sabbir Rahman gave him crucial support from the other end with 32 runs from 29 balls. The duo produced a 45-run partnership to help the hosts to a competitive total.
Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah (1/13) and Ashish Nehra (1/33) made good use of the seam friendly conditions to remove the Bangladesh openers early on. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who opened the Indian bowling, had figures of 1/14 while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1/25) also bagged a wicket.

Scoreboard
Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal lbw b Bumrah 13
Soumya Sarkar c Pandya b Nehra 14
Sabbir Rahman not out 32
Shakib al Hasan c Bumrah b Ashwin 21
Mushfiqur Rahim run out 4
Mashrafe Mortaza c Kohli b Jadeja 0
Mahmudullah not out 33
Extras (w 3) 3
Total 5 wickets; 15 overs) 120
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-30, 3-64,
4-75, 5-75
Bowling
Ravichandran Ashwin 3-0-14-1
Ashish Nehra 3-0-33-1
Jasprit Bumrah 3-0-13-1
Ravindra Jadeja 3-0-25-1
Hardik Pandya 3-0-35-0
India
R Sharma c S Sarkar b A Hossain 1
S Dhawan c S Sarkar b T Ahmed 60
V Kohli not out 41
MS Dhoni not out 20
Extras (W-1) 1
Total (2 wkts in 13.5 overs) 122
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-99
Bowling
T Ahmed 3-0-14-1
A Hossain 2.5-0-30-1
A Hider 1-0-14-0
S Al Hasan 2-0-26-0
M Mortaza 2-0-16-0
N Hossain 3-0-22-0