Out of the box and back in contention

Liton Das has been one of the more maligned junior national cricketers in Bangladesh, because the perception is that he was wasting his considerable talent with the bat. To watch him play a cover drive and to witness that extra fraction of a second that he has to play the ball is to realise that he could grow to be one of the better batsmen produced by the country. However, seeing him throw away countless good starts with bad shots tempered those expectations considerably.

In the just-concluded Asia Cup, he took up the poisoned chalice of being Tamim Iqbal's opening partner -- a position that no one has been able to make his own despite being given enough opportunities. He scored a 42-ball 43 against Afghanistan in their Super Four game on Sunday, but as seemed typical then, he squandered the start with a wild slog sweep.

In Friday's final against India, Liton moved past all of that with a 117-ball 121 and showed why he has been persisted with. He also proved that, when it comes to possible candidates for the position of Tamim's opening partner, he is the first among equals. If he does make the transition, the innings provided a glimpse into how devastating an opening pair of Tamim and Liton could be.

India's pace attack is a formidable one, and the fiery Jasprit Bumrah had been allowed to settle into his rhythm thus far in the tournament. Liton however displayed that quality that is the bedrock of all batsmen for whom aggression is the modus operandi -- he backed himself to go after the opposition's most feared bowler.

Bumrah bowls above 140 kmph, but Liton repeatedly stepped out to him and hammered boundaries. Bumrah ended his third over, after Liton advanced down the wicket and hit the fast bowler off mid on, having conceded 23 runs. That put the pressure on India's spinners who had thus far come on and benefited from the pacers' economy in their opening spells. Liton took care of that, hitting leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for big sixes, choosing his areas carefully.

But there was then the typical moment of madness when, just having completed his 50 off 33 deliveries, he went for a wild slog sweep off Kuldeep Yadav. This time, however, he survived as Chahal dropped the catch at mid on.

But what happened then was what will give fans the most hope. Liton saw skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's chest thump from the dressing room asking him to stay strong, and the youngster responded. He chose to play mostly along the ground, picking areas shrewdly for his boundaries. As wickets started falling at regular intervals at the other end, Liton did not throw it away but actually slowed down to complete his maiden century off 87 balls. He kept batting responsibly before a marginal stumping decision, off a defensive shot, ended arguably the innings of the tournament.

It is early days yet, but if Liton can keep mixing his penchant for dominance with thoughtful batting, it will be an auspicious development for Bangladesh cricket.

When Bangladesh take on India in the Asia Cup final in Dubai today, it will be a battle between two sides who have come to the title clash through highly contrasting routes and with widely divergent levels of confidence.

The match will start at 5:30pm (Bangladesh time) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India had confirmed their place in the final by beating Pakistan by nine wickets on Sunday, the same day that Bangladesh had just managed to stay in contention with a three-run win over Afghanistan. India then rested their best players -- including captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan -- for their last Super Four match against Afghanistan, who were inspired by leg-spinner Rashid Khan into forcing a thrilling tie against the world's top-ranked ODI team on Tuesday.

The following day, Bangladesh woke to the news that ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan would follow opener and highest run-scorer Tamim Iqbal out of the tournament, but still rallied to beat two-time champions Pakistan by 37 runs in Abu Dhabi.

While that meant that Bangladesh made the final for the third time in the last four editions, it also meant that they would have one less day than the more-fancied India to recuperate after toiling in heat that they had never played in as a team.

There is also a contrast between the respective strengths of the sides. Bangladesh have routinely lost two wickets inside the first 10 overs and have played out the 50 overs only once in five matches. Meanwhile India have only lost more than three wickets on the two occasions when they played at less than full strength -- against Hong Kong in their first match when they lost seven wickets for 285 and against Afghanistan, when they were bowled out for 252.

"It was difficult [winning against Pakistan] with performers like Shakib and Tamim not playing," said Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza at the pre-final press conference yesterday. "The good thing that the boys have done is that they did not given up, although we lost to Afghanistan in the group stage and again against India [exactly a week before the final], but still they fought back.

"There are some concerns with our batting, but Mushfiqur [Rahim, the second-highest scorer in the tournament with 297 runs] is in great form. [Mohammad] Mithun is playing well, [Mahmudullah] Riyad also batted well. If our top order can click it will be fine. But again I think that India are a far better team -- number one in the world. They came here as favourites, but you never know, anything can happen on a good day. We have to be mentally strong and fight till the end."

While India will have a settled team, Bangladesh have not played the same team for two matches in succession throughout the tournament. The injuries have forced them to get creative, such as batting left-handed opener Imrul Kayes at six to combat Rashid's leg-spin on Sunday. There may be a change today, with left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam coming into replace batsman Mominul Haque to try and contain India's vaunted batting order.

Imrul could also slot back into the opening position, pulling Soumya down to the lower middle order. With the way things have gone, it is a fool's errand to guess their plans. Mashrafe also has an injury to his right little from when he spectacularly caught Pakistan's Shoaib Malik on Wednesday. However, there is no danger of the captain not playing in the title clash.

The crux of the battle may be in the top order because the two teams match up pretty evenly with the ball. Bangladesh have not conceded more than the 255 for seven Afghanistan scored against them last Thursday. As Mashrafe said, if it goes according to form, the top-ranked India should come out on top against the seventh-ranked Bangladesh. But if the Tigers can find the solution to the top order woes at the most opportune time, they will have performed above themselves and could conjure an unlikely result.

Bangladesh also have the invisible hand of momentum going in their favour, having won their last two matches with spirited performances.

However, it should also be remembered that they have never won a final, including a loss to India in the last Asia Cup final at home and in the Nidahas Trophy in March.

It would not be an injustice in any way if the Cricket Gods allow Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to lift the Asia Cup trophy with his firm hands at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium today to bring smiles on the faces of the millions of cricket-crazy people in our country.

However, the question is how realistic that dream is. India will go into the final today tagged as 'overwhelming favourites' after enjoying an unbeaten run in the tournament while the Tigers endured a bumpy ride.

Although India are favourites in today's final, Bangladesh can draw on the inspiration provided by the lion-hearted Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and their (bellow) raucous support in Dubai to perhaps seal what would be their most famous success. PHOTO: AFP FILE

While it is true that Bangladesh have overcome many odds to reach the final, many will say: "It's India man! And don't forget there is no Shakib Al Hasan or Tamim Iqbal."

However, a Midas touch from one man can change all the equations and realistic views.

He has given proof of that many times in his fairytale career and he did it again in this tournament too with a traditionally charismatic approach.

When Bangladesh left the country, they had high hopes of achieving glory. Things took a turn and there was plenty of drama in the opener against Sri Lanka, all of which was eventually overshadowed by Tamim Iqbal's unbelievable courage. However, the man who motivated the left-hander was none other than his inspirational skipper.

Tamim's loss had a huge impact as the two new openers failed to find their feet and two defeats to Afghanistan and India made things difficult for the captain, who was tasked with putting the pieces back together and reigniting their hopes. Then the controversial decision to include openers Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar apparently unsettled the team but hope never faded as that colossal man was at the helm.

He stuck to two young openers despite their failures and the hard-fought victory against Afghanistan in the Super Four promised something good was coming to the team.

Alas! The Cricket Gods threw another monumental challenge at the man as Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out ahead of the do-or-die match against Pakistan.

The rest is history.

Mashrafe's stunning catch to dismiss dangerman Shoaib Malik might be publicised most but the way he charged up his men and marshalled the fielding, apart from a good bowling effort, only provided more proof why this man is special.

So, do not only consider logistics when this inspirational man is around. If anyone deserves this prestigious trophy, it is Mashrafe, even more so at the fag end of his career.

Even as everyone who witnessed the match were saying that beating Pakistan with the odds firmly stacked against Bangladesh was one of the country's better cricketing achievements, player-of-the-match Mushfiqur Rahim insisted that it was just another match for them. 

"It's just another game of cricket. It's nothing special to play against Pakistan or any team," said Musfiqur after the 37-run win in their Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi. "I think Afghanistan are a great team and also Sri Lanka, although they lost both their matches and they were knocked out from the group stage. But I still think they are a dangerous team because in January they beat us in our backyard. 

"You can't take any team for granted. It was just another game and we treated it like that. All the guys were spirited because it was a great chance to get to the final and hopefully we can make it to number one and end up winning."

When reminded that Bangladesh were without the injured stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and still ended up winning against more-fancied opposition, Mushfiqur – who scored 99 in Bangladesh's 239 all out -- softened his stance a little.

"Of course, this is just one match. Overall, if you think about everything -- it was really hot, we lost three wickets -- and want to take credit for all those then yes, it's a special win," he continued with a smile. "But I think it is just like another match, For sure, the match was in their [Pakistan's] backyard and they know the conditions better than us. We all know how dangerous the Pakistan attack can be in these conditions because there is a bit of help for pace bowlers early on. So from that perspective it was an important win for us. 

"And as you said, two or three players from our best 11 cannot play because of injury, so from that perspective I would say that all of us had to take a little extra responsibility. So Alhamdulillah, it was good in every way."

Perhaps Mushfiqur was downplaying the importance because his eyes were set on something bigger – winning the final against India after having made the title match in two of the last three editions: losing against Pakistan in 2012 at home and against India in 2016, also at home. 

They play the final against on Friday India, the form team of the tournament, having won comfortably against every opposition – including Bangladesh by seven wickets – until they rested a host of their first-choice players against Afghanistan on Tuesday, a game that ended in a thrilling tie. 

"I think so, the confidence is there although I feel we haven't played to our best yet in the three departments," Mushfiqur said when asked if they have a chance against the top-ranked ODI side. "We have been struggling in the batting group in the top order. India are playing outstanding cricket in this tournament, but they are also human beings and they are bound to make mistakes. So I think if we can put up a good score on the board, we can probably pressure them. If we are chasing a good score, if we get a good start then hopefully we can pull it off. That's one thing we hope we can achieve in this tournament."