India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup 2016, Final match at Mirpur, Dhaka: Virat Kohli vs Al-Amin Hossain and other key battles

India have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and were the only team to beat Bangladesh in this edition of Asia Cup.

Asia Cup T20 2016 is all set to witness its final encounter as Bangladesh take on neighbours India at the Sher E Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka on Sunday. The teams had started off their Asia Cup campaign competing against each other and now have defeated their opponents to qualify for the power-packed final to lift the glorious trophy. India have remained unbeaten throughout the tournament and were the only team to beat Bangladesh in this edition of Asia Cup. Many of the players have delivered standout performances in the tournament and before the match, Paulami Chakraborty here lists few key battles that can make the game more interesting. Full Cricket Scorecard, India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup 2016, Final match at Mirpur, Dhaka

Virat Kohli and Al-Amin Hossain: Since Mustafizur Rahman’s exit from Asia Cup T20 2016, Al-Amin Hossain has been the main strength of the Bangladesh pace attack. The bowler has so far scalped 10 wickets from four matches. With wickets of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in his hand from their previous match, Bangladesh’s ace bowler will definitely look forward to bag the big fish Virat Kohli in the final match. Kohli has been the hero of two of out of India’s four victories in the tournament and is surely the most-wanted wicket for the opponents with his present form. While the batsman is still a bit uncomfortable to play pacers, Al-Amin has the tendency to trouble the top-order. It will be interesting to see how the bowler challenges him with the change in length.

Sabbir Rahman and Ravichandran Ashwin: Sabbir Rahman is one player that has evolved to the batting strength of the Bangladesh line-up from a mere middle-order batsman. Sabbir has performed brilliantly in current times, including the Asia Cup but has so far thrown away his wickets to spinners. On the other hand, Ashwin’s Asia Cup run has not been up to the mark. With the last chance in the tournament, the leading Indian spinner would definitely like to better his numbers and will aim to take the wicket of the most dependable batsman of Bangladesh currently.

Shakib Al Hasan and Yuvraj Singh: Asia Cup T20 2016 has been a good practice for all the teams before the ICC World T20 2016 and one thing that the Indian dug-out was looking forward to before the initiation of the event was Yuvraj Singh’s performance. The much-wanted comeback of India’s potent all-rounder happened towards the end of the Australia series but more of his sensible cricket was seen during the Asia Cup matches. With the ability to bag important wickets, Yuvraj is one strength India will rope upon in the final match while the same thing can be said about Shakib as well. One of the most experienced players in the Bangladesh squad currently, Shakib helps Bangladesh with both bat and his ball and is one game-changer who has been praised by the world. Who will prove to be more elemental for their respective teams?

Soumya Sarkar and Jasprit Bumrah: The battle will see a young lad with stunning bowling action up against an experienced and accomplished batsman. Sarkar needs no introduction as his bat speaks volumes about his talent while Bumrah showed the world that he is one raw talent who has the potential to become one of the most successful bowlers. However, Sarkar has not done any heroics for his team so far in the tournament and would like to take this final opportunity to prove his mettle, while bagging him will add another feather to Bumrah’s hat.

Mahmudullah and Hardik Pandya: This another battle of all-rounders but this time both are rather less experienced. Mahmudullah, with his off-spin, is able to get the fierce hitters and also manages to add important runs in the end overs with the bat. Pandya on the other hand, also possesses a similar profile as he is himself is a hard hitter and can come in handy while given the ball. The result of the match and trophy will surely have the influence of the performance of these two.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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