The Asia Cup 2018 was played between India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong at UAE. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong could not qualify for the Super Fours and at the end, the top two teams India and Bangladesh reached the final. This was yet another last ball finish between these two sides after the T20 World Cup 2016 match and the Nidahas Trophy final, all the three matches won by India.
In this year’s Asia Cup, there were many admirable batting and bowling performances. There were centuries scored by Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Shahzad and Liton Das. In addition, the bowlers like Rashid Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also did some quality bowling. There was also one five-wicket haul by Thisara Perera against Afghanistan, unfortunately for a losing cause.
This article covers the top five performers of the Asia Cup 2018.
5. MOHAMMAD SHAHZAD
Shahzad had a poor series against Ireland. However, in the Asia Cup, he always tried and gave Afghanistan a smooth start with his attacking style of batting. He scored 53 runs against Bangladesh, which Afghanistan lost and made 124 runs against India, which was a tie. For his 124 runs against India, he was adjudged as the Man of the Match. However, his wicketkeeping and fitness have raised questions.
He was the fourth highest run-getter of the Asia Cup with 268 runs at an average of 54 in five matches.
4. RASHID KHAN
After having a fine series against Ireland, Rashid continued his good form in the Asia Cup as well. He showed his performance both with the ball and with the bat. In the group match against Bangladesh, when Rashid came to bat, Afghanistan was 160-7 in 40.5 overs. He and Gulbadin Naib had a crucial partnership of 95 runs, which includes 57 runs scored by Rashid in 32 balls, due to which Afghanistan made 255-7 in 50 overs. In reply, Bangladesh only managed to score 119 runs. For his match-changing innings, Rashid was adjudged as the Player of the Match.
He, along with Kuldeep Yadav and Mustafizur Rahman are the leading wicket-takers of this Asia Cup by picking ten wickets.
3. MUSHFIQUR RAHIM
Rahim did not perform well in the series against the Windies. However, he was one of the consistent performers for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. He scored his career-best 144 runs against Sri Lanka and scored a match-changing 99 runs against Pakistan, for both these performances, he was awarded Player of the Match award.
He was the third highest run-getter of the Asia Cup with 302 runs at an average of 60 in five matches.
2. ROHIT SHARMA
After a mediocre tour of England, Rohit Sharma played some laudable knocks in the Asia Cup. Except against Hong Kong and in the final against Bangladesh, he crossed the 50 runs mark. He scored unbeaten 111 runs and had a 210 runs partnership with Shikhar Dhawan against Pakistan. It did not look like the responsibility of captaining India affected his batting. After winning the Asia Cup he said, “If you have a team like that, the captain will always look good. 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.”
He was the second highest run-getter of the series with 317 runs at an average of 106 in five matches.
1. SHIKHAR DHAWAN
Along with Rohit, Dhawan too had an ordinary series of England. Nevertheless, he looked in the sublime form in the Asia Cup. He was the only batsman to score two centuries in this Asia Cup. He scored 127 and 114 runs against Hong Kong and Pakistan respectively.
He was the leading run-getter of the Asia Cup with 342 runs at an average of 68 in five matches. For his magnificent performance in the Asia Cup, he was adjudged as the Man of the Series.
About the Author: Parth Baxi.
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