Asia Cup 2018: Top 5 knocks in the tournament

Asia Cup 2018 has come to a close and it was another scintillating edition of the continental tournament. Batsman, bowlers and fielders put in performances that have given the cricket watching public immeasurable pleasure.

Hindustan Times takes a look at the top 5 batting performances in the 2018 Asia Cup:

Rohit Sharma (111* vs Pakistan) — India’s stand-in skipper for the tournament was in sublime form in the tournament and that was also evident in the Super Four encounter against Pakistan. Chasing 238 to win, Rohit opened the innings and made a flawless ton. Thanks to his ton and partnership with Shikhar Dhawan, India decimated Pakistan by 9 wickets. Rohit struck seven fours and four sixes in his knock and added over 200 for the first-wicket with Dhawan.

Mohammad Shahzad (124 vs India) — Shahzad set the stadium alight with his knock of 124 against India in what was a dead rubber. He took on the Indian bowlers right from the start and hit seven sixes during the course of the innings. Wickets kept falling from the other end, but that had absolutely no effect on Shahzad who kept on swinging. He had scored centuries earlier as well, but there is no doubt that this was special considering the fact that it came against the No.1 ODI team.

Liton Das (121 vs India) — Pressure in the final is different to any other match and performing in the final is not easy. Liton Das though did exactly that. Opening the batting in the final against India, Liton took on the Indian bowlers and hit them all round the park, hitting 12 fours and two sixes during his knock. What was remarkable was the fact that this was his maiden century for Bangladesh in ODI cricket and he made more than the other 10 batsmen combined. It is a pity that it wasn’t in a winning cause.

Mushfiqur Rahim (144 vs Sri Lanka) — After Lasith Malinga wreaked havoc at the start of the Bangladesh innings in his comeback match, Mushfiqur almost single-handedly took Bangladesh to a respectable total. The diminutive right-hander struck 144 out of 261 in what was a flawless innings. What added to the innings was that he added 32 runs with Tamim Iqbal who had a broken wrist and could only use one hand for the last wicket.

Shikhar Dhawan (114 vs Pakistan) — A knock that will be remembered for a long time when people talk about memorable knocks in the Asia Cup. Chasing 238 to win Shikhar got off to a flying start and kept going throughout the innings. He was lucky with Pakistan squandering some easy chances, but that takes nothing away from the fact that he creamed 16 boundaries and two maximums in his innings. His partnership with skipper Rohit Sharma of 210 was absolutely breathtaking. It was a real shame that the innings ended with a run out.

First Published: Sep 29, 2018 08:49 IST