Asia Cup 2018: The Team of the Tournament
Six continental powerhouses, 13 thrilling games and 14 riveting days of anticipation later, we finally have India as the Asian champions. The final was an edge of the seat thriller, with fortunes changing every moment. However, what followed before that was some highly entertaining contests, some of them going right down to the wire.
There were some shocks and upsets, with some defining statements made by sides like Hong Kong and Afghanistan. However the tournament was also defined by some individual brilliance that won the hearts of the cricketing fraternity. We compile the team of the tournament, consisting of these individual talents who stood out:
#1 Openers
Rohit Sharma (Captain- India)
Rohit Sharma was sensational in the tournament, both as a batsman and as a captain. He batted with great responsibility at the top of the order, and ensured that he finished the games for his team. He took his time to get accustomed to the conditions, allowing his partner attack initially.
Once he was on song, Rohit ripped apart everything that came in his zone. He also made some crucial bowling changes and field placements with an attacking mindset and ensured that the opposition is put under continuous pressure as a leader. Hitman ended as the second highest scorer in the tournament, with 317 runs. Sharma became the third fastest Indian and fifth fastest overall to score 7000 runs in ODI Cricket.
Shikhar Dhawan (India)
Dhawan, along with compatriot Rohit, formed a destructive opening pair for India. He showed his dominance in white ball cricket after having a lacklustre England tour. The southpaw came out all guns blazing, and gave his team invaluable starts to the innings. Dhawan scored at a brisk pace, giving time to his captain to settle in and kept the scoreboard moving. He scored 2 blistering centuries in the games against Hong Kong and Pakistan. Dhawan finished as the highest run scorer of the tournament, with 342 runs from 5 matches and was the Player of the Tournament.