Asia Cup 2018: 3 reasons why India won the tournament

Before India departed for UAE for their campaign to defend the Asia Cup, there was a sense of skepticism amongst Indian fans over the non-inclusion of India's best batsman Virat Kohli. The selectors decided to rest Kohli considering his workload. Also, prior to this tournament, Pakistan had been having a flawless record in UAE, having won all their matches in their adopted home ground since 2016.

Additionally, Team India last played in UAE more than a decade ago which meant that the current bunch of players were unaware of the conditions on offer in the UAE while the Pakistan team had been playing regularly in UAE and were well aware of the conditions and were also accustomed to playing in the UAE heat. Even the Sri Lankans were well acclimatized to the hot conditions in UAE by virtue of having played against Pakistan there. Considering these facts and also taking into account a resurgent Bangladesh team, it was felt that team India would be having a hard time in UAE.

However, brushing aside all the skepticism and criticisms, Rohit Sharma's men emerged unscratched from the tournament to emerge victoriously and win 2 Asia Cup trophies in succession. Here we have a look at 3 reasons why India won the Asia Cup 2018.

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#1 Solid opening stands

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were both in great form throughout the tournament

The importance of a solid opening partnership can never be understated, especially in a prestigious multi-team tournament like the Asia Cup. It's the openers who provide a strong foundation for the rest of the team to build upon.

India's openers provided team India with the perfect base in the Asia Cup that set up the foundation for India's victory. Both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were incredible in their roles as openers and took the attack to the opposition bowlers. While Dhawan was the player of the tournament having amassed 342 runs, skipper Rohit was not to be left far behind, scoring 317 runs at an average of 105.67.

In contrast, India's middle order was found to be vulnerable. While MS Dhoni is desperately out of form, Dinesh Karthik threw his wicket away after having provided a brisk start, especially in the final and in the dead rubber vs Afghanistan. Rayudu too floundered in the final. Both Rohit and Dhawan understood the drawbacks of India's middle order and ensured that they provided the best possible starts.

#2 Brilliant strangulation by bowlers

Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah ensured that team India's batsmen did not have to chase huge totals

India's pace spearheads Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah once again came to the party as team India restricted its opposition from scoring above 260 in any of the games. Bumrah picked up 8 wickets in 4 games at an average of 16 while Bhuvi collected 6 wickets at 29.33. Both of them were brilliant at the death, especially Bumrah, who ensured that only 38 runs were conceded in the last 7 overs in the crucial super-four game vs Pakistan.

The spinners too came to the party for India. Kuldeep was the second highest wicket-taker of the series while comeback man Jadeja did a neat job picking up 7 wickets at just 22.29. However, the most impressive was part-timer Kedar Jadhav whose sidearm action slinging deliveries foxed the batsman as they were unable to read him properly. Jadhav kept on providing crucial breakthroughs whenever a partnership was building.

The biggest reason for India's bowling success was the fact that the bowlers, especially the pacers did not bowl any loose deliveries and cramped up the batsmen for room. Also, India's bowlers managed to break the shackles and pull the game back in India's favor whenever a threatening partnership was beginning to build, by picking up wickets at regular intervals.

#3 Rohit Sharma's inspirational captaincy

Rohit's inspirational captaincy propelled team India to its seventh Asia Cup title

Captaincy is an extremely important factor in Cricket. It's the captain who decides the fortune of the team by his crucial decision-making abilities. When Kohli was rested and Rohit was named skipper, there were several raised eyebrows and skepticism prevailed over Rohit's elevation.

However, Rohit proved his detractors wrong by leading his team to victory without losing a single game. His inspirational captaincy was one of the major factors responsible for India's success. His decision to use Jadhav as a regular bowling option proved fruitful as Jadhav did wonders with the ball. In the super-four tie vs Bangladesh, Rohit promoted Dhoni up the order. The decision did not backfire as Dhoni did not disappoint and steadied the ship for India. The decision to have a square-leg fielder for Shakib in the game vs Bangladesh was a terrific move as it reaped dividends straightaway and enabled Jadeja to strike in his first over after comeback.

Rohit's bowling and field placements were impressive too and the fact that India is yet to lose a series under his captaincy speaks volumes about his leadership skills. As a captain, Rohit also batted responsibly and ended up as the second highest run-getter of the series. Captaincy indeed brings the best out of him.