India are through to the Asia Cup final, as was expected from the world champions and winners of three of the past four editions of the tournament.
Their 41-run victory over Bangladesh in the Super Four stage on Wednesday not only confirmed their entry into Sunday’s title match but also highlighted the huge gap between them and the rest of the pack.
Not even five dropped chances in Dubai could stop India from dominating Bangladesh in a format where one half opportunity can change the course of a match. The team in blue are too well-tuned, too experienced, and frankly too talented not to end up on the winning side.
India have largely been left to their own devices. Over the past two years, India have won a staggering 38 and lost just five matches in the fickle format of T20 cricket. They were bound to make it to the Asia Cup final. Or any white-ball final for that matter.
However, this tournament has thrown up some concerns that can’t be easily brushed under the carpet and could yet cost India dearly in the remainder of the tournament.
After Abhishek Sharma, who?
It would be fair to say that the main reason for India’s march into the final is the destructive form of opening batter Abhishek Sharma. On surfaces where almost every other batter has struggled to play at a high tempo, the left-handed batter has amassed the most runs (248) at a strike rate of over 200.
His opening partner Shubman Gill has done his bit, scoring 111 runs at a strike rate of above 150. But after them, India’s batting has nosedived.
Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma have done OK without totally convincing.
One reason is that the pitches have become slower in the second half of the innings. But even after accounting for that, Suryakumar Yadav's loss of form seems staggering.
Once the top-ranked T20 batter, Suryakumar has not been the same for more than a season. The Mumbai Indians batter averaged above 45 in 2022 and 2023, ultimately earning him the team’s captaincy after Rohit Sharma vacated the position. But last year, his average dipped below 30. In T20s this year, it is scraping the bottom of the barrel at 12 and just above run a ball.
In the Asia Cup, Suryakumar has managed just 59 runs in four innings, which is less than Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi’s tally.
There is a school of thought that Suryakumar’s overwhelming dependence on leg side shots is getting easily plugged and pacers only need to bowl one side of the wicket to get him out.
On Wednesday, not only did the captain see Abhishek run out, he got caught behind soon after attempting a wild swing.
India have exceptional depth in batting, which is why the form of their captain at the top of the order is not hurting them in the Asia Cup. But the World Cup is around the corner, and that will be played at home. When margins get tighter against stronger teams, Suryakumar will have nowhere to hide.
Fielding woes continue
While India have done enough with the bat and been superb with the ball - Jasprit Bumrah finally hit good form against Bangladesh – their fielding has been atrocious.
The world champions have dropped a dozen chances so far in the tournament, which is the worst fielding efficiency of any team at the Asia Cup.
Things got so bad that even their wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, normally a safe pair of hands, dropped a top edge off spinner Varun Chakravarthy against Bangladesh. India are lucky that the wickets in the UAE are so helpful; bowlers are generating multiple wicket-taking opportunities. On flat surfaces, such fielding will lose matches and tournaments.
