Mirpur: India won the Asia Cup 2016 beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets here at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.
Chasing a target of 121 runs, India made 122/2 with seven balls remaining in the allotted 15 overs. Shikhar Dhawan finally made a good show with bat, hitting a splendid 60 runs from 44 deliveries. He made a terrific partnership of 94 runs with Virat Kohli (41 off 28 balls) pushing India close to the victory target.
Later, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (20 runs from 6 balls) finished the match in style hitting a sky-rise six off Al-Amin's over.
Earlier, Bangladesh finished with 120 for 5, after a swift partnership of 45 off just 20 balls between Mahmudullah and Sabbir.
Mahmudullah made a smashing 33-run inning from just 13 deliveries that included two fours and 2 sixes.
For the Indian side, Nehra, Ashwin, Bumrah and Jadeja shared one wicket each but could not decelerate Bangladesh's runrate.
The hosts were off to a good start with openers Soumya Sarkar and Tamim Iqbal adding 27 runs for the first wicket before getting dismissed by Ashish Nehra and Jaspit Bumrah respectively. Soumya scored 14 off 9 balls while Tamim added 13 off 17 balls.
Shakib-Al-Hasan contributed a crucial 21 off 16 balls. Ashwin sent him back to the pavilion.
India won the toss and elected to bowl first in this match which has been reduced to 15-overs per side.
The match was delayed due to heavy downpour in Mirpur which caused the floodlights in the stadium to go off. In case of cancellation of the match, the trophy would have been shared by both the teams as there wasn't a reserve day for this match.
On paper, India are overwhelming favourites as the ICC rankings (India's 1st vs Bangladesh's 10th) suggests. But it counts for little in the shortest format, wherein the complexion of the game can change in a matter of one over.
A master plot always has sub-plots and this final will be no different. There will be little testing battles, which promise to make it an intriguing summit clash.
Teams:
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah
