Asia Cup the VIth

Hurrah! India won the Asia Cup for the sixth time! Now, instead of writing about all the matches in turn, I will give an overall view of the entire tour, from India’s perspective.  Frankly speaking, I expected India to lift the Asia Cup. The team composition was excellent, they had won back-to-back series, therefore the morale was high, no major injuries worried them, and most importantly, their bowling was firing from both ends. Not only the spinners, but also the pacers. In short, it was a perfect combination. In contrast, Pakistan’s batting was not quite up to the mark, in their bowling, they had only Md. Amir firing. As for Sri Lanka, the team was quite inexperienced, except for some known names in the form of Dilshan, Malinga, Perera, Kulasekara to name a few. I felt that in this tournament, Bangladesh was the only relatively balanced side other than India. Sure, they had the home advantage as all the matches were played on the same Sher-e-Bangla pitch, but still their performances were worth noting. And the UAE. Who can ever forget the UAE? As expected, they were the favourite whipping boys of each of their opponents. You can’t blame this on them. They still are a relatively developing country in cricketing terms, they will take time to improve. The fact that they played the 2015 World Cup itself was a big thing.
India were right on the money from the very start. They only stuttered a little in the match against Pakistan when the bullets of Md. Amir reduced them to 8/3. But thereon, Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh carried on and chased down the paltry score of 83 set for them with ease. It was also heartening to see the Prince of Indian Cricket back among his famed shots. Dhoni also showed his true form, if only a glimpse, that the fire of the finisher within him has not still extinguished. Due to rain, the final between India and Bangladesh was reduced to 15 overs-a-side. India comfortably won that game, with the only weak link in their necklace performers, Shikhar Dhawan, firing a swashbuckling 60 runs off just 44 balls. Virat continued to essay his role of the mainstay with poise again, as he did in almost all the matches.

Though all the other Asian teams have much to ponder upon various problems within their unit, I see no major problems in the Indian camp.  Perhaps an injury here or there, but nothing to improve or think upon. All the players seem to have understood their role to perfection, and are working according to it with ease. India are, as Captain Cool MS Dhoni said in the “sixth gear.”
Let’s certainly hope that this “sixth gear” state of mind is helpful in winning the World T20. I do certainly hope that India lifts the World T20 Cup for the second time and brings those memories of the long-haired, inspirational and unorthodox captain back.