Asia Cup: The tournament that brought back a lost age
It was turning out to be the mother of all finals. Chasing a mere 223, the star-studded Indian batting line-up had suddenly discovered that they are in a bit of a hole. Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and co. were bowling to a plan, hit the good length, keep it straight, don't let the Indians free their arms.
Rohit Sharma, captain for this multi-nation tournament, had once again proved why he is such a devastating limited overs' batsman through his exploits in the run-up to the final, but even he was feeling a bit tied down after a characteristically free-flowing start. Thus came the inevitable get-out-of-the-shackles hit but Sharma's pull failed to go the distance and he was caught in the deep, out for 48.
India still had a long way to go and the grind had just begun. In the end, there was enough drama for it to be termed a final where cricket was the overall winner, as an injured Kedar Jadav emerged the hero in a last-ball finish, breaking Bangladesh hearts in the process.
Nostalgic
However, India struggling to chase down a target with a required run rate of a touch above 4 was not a one-off incident in this tournament of surprises. In match after match 250 proved to be a challenging-often match-winning score in an Asia Cup that harked back to a bygone age.
Afghanistan were the revelation of this tournament even as India deservedly won their 7th Asia Cup crown. Their spinners, led by the unflappable Rashid Khan, created a web of suffocation that choked sides. If only they had a bit more experience, the Afghans might have played the final in Bangaldesh's stead.
The rise of the bowlers
Bangladesh themselves were not far behind in impressing with the ball. Their pacers reaped the rewards of discipline for large swathes of the tournament, especially in a must-win match against Pakistan in the super-four stage.
Chasing 240 for a win that will put them in the final, Pakistan found the going tough from the get-go. Imam-ul-Haq dug in to reach 83 but tellingly, his strike rate was a mere 80 as the impressive Mustafizur Rehman picked up 4/43 and was ably backed up by the supporting cast.
Once Shoaib Malik had fallen prey to a stupendous catch taken by the heroic Mortaza, Pakistan's hopes had all but disappeared. The most striking example of Bangladesh's supremacy was Shadab Khan's struggles with the willow. Coming in after the in-form Malik, Khan departed after consuming 24 balls for four runs.
The Indian batsmen were in top form, especially Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan, who both got more than 300 runs, but their winning run depended primarily on the bowlers. The two facile victories scripted over arch-rivals Pakistan were facilitated by the craft and mastery of the pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who picked up wickets while not going for runs; they were superbly supported by the spin exploits of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav and the late entrant, Ravindra Jadeja.
Summing up
The pitches were slow, the heat was strong but these cannot be the only reasons why this was such a low-scoring tournament in an age of ODI double centuries and 400 plus scores. The bowling was top notch from almost all the teams playing in UAE and the final really shone a light on this phenomenon. After Liton Das's century had propelled Bangladesh to a great start, India pulled things back dexterously with Yadav taking three and Bangladesh getting all out at 222.
But the neighbours returned the favor in full force as none of India's star batsmen could manage a strike rate of 100 and had to really grind it out in a classic, old-school run chase. It provided for intriguing and mouth-watering cricket with a tinge of nostalgia which was a hallmark of the tournament.