Asia Cup 2018: India's expected playing XI for the final
The match between India and Afghanistan ended in an epic tie after Rashid Khan defended 7 runs in the last over. However, India will consider itself unlucky as there were a couple of run-outs in their innings because of the bat getting stuck in the ground. There were also a couple of umpiring decisions that also went against the Indian team.
But one should not forget that India wasn't playing with it's strongest side. With the team already in the finals, the Indian team management experimented a lot by making a barrage of changes in the playing XI.
As many as 5 front-line players, including Captain Rohit Sharma, were rested in the match against Afghanistan. This gave an opportunity to the benched players to get some match-time. It was also much-needed because the Indian middle-order hadn't got much of a hit. The match went down to the wire and ended in a tie.
Now that the Super Four stage is almost done and dusted, it's time for the big final. We will look at India's predicted playing XI for the final.
Openers
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have decimated bowling-attacks in the Asia Cup. Shikhar Dhawan came into the tournament after a forgettable Test series against England. While he struggled against the red ball, Dhawan seemed to be at home against the white ball. The southpaw has scored two tons so far and is the leading run-scorer of the series.
Dhawan's opening partner has been in rich vein of form too. Rohit Sharma scored a classy hundred against Pakistan on Sunday and will be crucial to India's chances in the final as well. Rohit has also impressed everyone with his captaincy.