Asia Cup 2018: Strongest XI
India defeated Bangladesh in a nail-biting final on Friday to win the 2018 Asia Cup. The game lasted till the last ball of India’s chase and Jadhav took India home, despite a hamstring injury. This tournament has produced some stunning cricket and the finals did not disappoint us.
There were some brilliant individual performances throughout the tournament. Liton Das took India by surprise with a scintillating 121 in the finals. Mohammad Shahzad scored a blistering hundred against India in a Super Four game. Indian openers were at this belligerent best, all through the Asia Cup.
On the bowling front, Malinga produced a devastating spell in the opening game of the tournament, but the Sri Lanka team as a whole wasn’t good enough to qualify for the Super Four. Ravindra Jadeja was consistent for India and Rashid Khan was at his usual best for Afghanistan. Shakib Al Hasan’s injury was a great set back for Bangladesh.
Honorable Mention: Imam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
On that note, let’s take a look at Strongest 2018 Asia Cup XI.
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
With a hundred and two fifties, Rohit Sharma was exceptional for India at the top. Opening the batting, the Indian captain gave solid starts and was consistent throughout the tournament. He has scored 317 runs in just five games at an average of 105.66. He finished the 2018 Asia Cup as the second highest run-getter. Rohit’s captaincy record is getting better and better.
Shikhar Dhawan was adjudged Man of the Series in the 2018 Asia Cup after some phenomenal batting performances. The 32-year-old scored two hundreds in the tournament and was blistering at the top. Dhawan finished the tournament with 342 runs from five games. At an average of 68.40 and a strike rate of 102.08, he was easily the best batsman in the 2018 Asia Cup.