Who said what: World reacts to India’s win over Bangladesh to win the Asia Cup 2018
The Asia Cup has thrown some nail-biting contests in the past week. Today was no different as the winner was decided in the last over of the second innings.
After Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first, Mehidy Hasan and Liton Das gave Bangladesh a splendid start. Liton Das took a special liking for the Indian bowler and scored runs freely. But Bangladesh collapsed after the first wicket fell. Das and Soumya Sarkar batted with responsibility which helped Bangladesh score 222 runs before being all-out. Indian Spinners Kedar Jadhav and Kuldeep Yadav were the picks of the bowlers.
In reply, India started a bit cautiously and were 3 down for 63 in the 17th over. Dinesh Karthik slowly but steadily formed an important partnership for India. Dhoni, though never got going in full flow and finally perished for 36. Some important contributions from the lower middle order of Jadeja, Jadhav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar sealed India’s victory in a match which could have been closer had Bangladesh middle order shown some responsibility. Indian batsmen still took it to the last ball of the 50th over and it took a leg bye to get India to the winning total.
Cricket experts, fans and social media celebs had lots to say during the match and after the match.
Ravi Shastri
Shastri said that he had full confidence in Rohit Sharma’s leadership skills. According to him the biggest plus in this series was the fielding where they saved 30-35 runs in every game.
Kedar Jadhav
Kedar said that he has been in this type of situation before and he kept his patience. Kuldeep’s batting at the other end gave him a lot of confidence and he didn’t try to hit unnecessary big shots.
Harsha Bhogle
Harsha was happy with the win but had some word of advice for the Indian team. According to him, India has still not found a stable middle order.
Rohit Sharma: We played some good cricket throughout the tournament and this is the reward of all the hard work throughout the tournament. I have been part of games like this before and credit to the guys in the middle to handle the pressure and to cross the finishing line was a fantastic effort. You have to give some credit to Bangladesh. It wouldn't be easy if we didn't have the support of the remaining 10 players, so I am really proud of the boys. I would like to thank the crowd, who have come out in huge numbers to support us throughout the tournament and I'm sure they're going back extremely pleased.
Mashrafe Mortaza: I hope we won a lot of hearts. We fought till the last ball, but we made a lot of mistakes on the field today. We bowled really well, particularly if we made 240+. We asked the batsmen to make at least 260, but at the end of the day, the bowlers did really well.
Shikhar Dhawan: Fantastic final. Good tournament for me enjoyed my batting, and hope to continue the same way. I enjoy playing it in a cool and matured manner. Rohit and I keep switching the aggressor's role sometimes, and I congratulate him for having a fantastic Asia Cup too
Ayaz Memon
Ayaz blamed the Bangladesh batting for the loss. According to him, 250 would have been a winning total on this track
Harbhajan Singh
The Turbanator saw cricket as the winner today. And congratulated Team India for the splendid run in the series.
Even Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan had some nice words for the Indian team.