Asia Cup 2018 Finals: Great Job By Boys To Win ‘Tight’ Game Against Bangladesh, Says Virat Kohli

Asia Cup 2018: India defeated Bangladesh by 3 wickets in the thrilling finale that went down to the final ball.

Regular skipper Virat Kohli has congratulated Rohit Sharma and company for winning the seventh Asia Cup title for India after they defeated Bangladesh in a pulsating final on Friday.

In a match that went down the wire, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar’s sensible knock, along with that of Kedar Jadhav, helped India pip Bangladesh by three wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.  The win also shattered Bangladesh’s dream of their maiden Asia Cup title while the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side clinched the prestigious title for a record seven times.

Chasing a modest target of 223, the Men in Blue made a rough weather of the chase at 160 for five with Jadhav (23 no) initially retiring after pulling his right hamstring only to comeback when it mattered the most.

He came in the 48th over with India still needing 11 runs. With six runs needed off the last over, Jadhav and Kuldeep Yadav kept their cool against Mahmudullah Riyadh taking three singles and double off the first five balls. The part-time off-spinner drifted the final delivery onto Jadhav’s legs as it brushed his pads for a leg bye to ensure India maintained its supremacy among continental neighbours.

“Great job by the guys to win that tight game last night. Seventh Asia Cup title for us. Congrats to Bangladesh as well for giving a tough fight,” said Kohli on Twitter.

Great job by the guys to win that tight game last night. ✌🏾 @BCCI
Seventh Asia Cup title for us 🙌🏽 🏆
Congrats to Bangladesh as well for giving a tough fight. @BCBtigers#AsiaCupFinal#AsiaCup2018Finalpic.twitter.com/hTHGSkq1kN

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 29, 2018

Meanwhile, India head coach Ravi Shastri praised Sharma for his “calming influence” on the teammates during the course of the tournament and said,  “Rohit was a calming influence and it showed in his captaincy. To keep his intensity going even after the start they (Bangladesh) had, showed he was really cool in every aspect of captaincy,” Shastri said.

The Indian head coach further went on to praise Sharma for making crucial bowling changes in the middle overs that helped Indian in restricting Bangladesh to a total of 222. “The bowling changes he made were really good, to concede just around 100 runs in the last 30 overs, I thought it was brilliant,” the 56-year-old said.