Asia Cup 2018: Predicted India XI vs Bangladesh
On 19th of September, India emerged victorious as they thumped their arch-rivals Pakistan in their Group A clash. Men in blues were dominating the game from ball one and never relinquished their control over the game. Pakistan was outplayed in every aspect of the game, be it batting, bowling or fielding.
With a plethora of positives from the match, only negative was Hardik Pandya's back injury which ruled him out of the rest of the tournament.
India is going to face Bangladesh in the first match of Super four stage on the 21st of September in Dubai. So it will be interesting to see which combination the team management goes with.
India's playing eleven against their subcontinent rivals could assume a form resembling the squad mentioned ahead:
Openers:
Rohit Sharma
Skipper Rohit Sharma was in great touch against the Pakistani bowling attack. The Mumbai batsman gave mouth-shutting replies to all who were doubting his batting abilities against the fearsome Pakistani pace attack led by Mohammad Amir.
Hitman will look to continue his form against Bangladesh as well. In the captaincy department also, Rohit Sharma is also garnering plaudits from various quarters as he looks to have got the combination right. Both, his batting and captaincy so far have ensured that the absence of Virat Kohli isn't felt.
Shikhar Dhawan
Dhawan is perhaps India's go-to man in the big tournaments. The left-hander has a penchant for scoring big when it matters. Shikhar Dhawan had a disastrous tour of England however, his place in the squad as an opener in limited overs cricket was always a near certainty.
He is the top scorer so far in the tournament with scoring 173 runs in two innings. He has once again announced his comeback into form with style. Along with Rohit Sharma, he put on an impressive 86 run stand and gave a strong foundation for the run-chase against Pak.
Number three: Ambati Rayudu
The Chennai Super Kings batsman made his comeback into the squad after missing the England tour due to failing a fitness test. It appears that Rayudu has carried his IPL form into the Asia cup has looked promising so far. He scored a good fifty against Hong Kong in his comeback knock. Against Pakistan, he was there till the finish as India chased the total of 165 against their arch-rivals