Battle Royale returns to the desert

India crushed Pakistan by eight wickets in their long-awaited Asia Cup match which failed to live up to its hype in Dubai on Wednesday.

Pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-15) and part time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav (3-23) sent Pakistan, who won the toss and batted, collapsing to just 162 all out in 43.1 overs at Dubai Stadium.

Skipper Rohit Sharma then struck three sixes and six boundaries in his 39-ball 52 while fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan hit a six and six fours in his 54-ball 46 as India romped home in 29 overs.

Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik both finished on 31 not out as India exacted some revenge for their humbling 180-run defeat against their arch-rivals in the final of the Champions Trophy in London last year -- the most recent match between the teams until Wednesday.

Both Pakistan and India had already qualified for the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup and will meet again in Dubai on Sunday.

Bangladesh and Afghanistan meet in Abu Dhabi in the last Group B match on Thursday, having already qualified for the second round after Sri Lanka crashed out.

The top two teams from the Super Fours will play the final in Dubai on September 28.

Once Pakistan's unpredictable batting crumbled, Wednesday's match turned into a damp squib for a near-capacity crowd comprising of Indian and Pakistani expats living in the United Arab Emirates.

Kumar ran through the top order by dismissing openers Imam-ul-Haq (two) and Fakhar Zaman (nought) inside five overs, before Babar Azam (47) and Shoaib Malik (43) rebuilt the innings during their 82-run stand for the third wicket.

But after Azam was dismissed in the 22nd over, bowled by left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for 77 runs.

Azam hit six boundaries in his 62-ball knock while Malik, dropped on 26 by MS Dhoni off Hardik Pandya, cracked one six and one four in a vigilant innings which lasted 67 balls.

Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (six) became Jadhav's first wicket, holing out to long-on where substitute fielder Maneesh Pandey completed a brilliant catch, throwing the ball back into the field to avoid running over the rope and completing the catch.

But it was Malik's run out which derailed Pakistan, sent back by Asif Ali after setting off for a quick single.

Paceman Jasprit Bumrah took 2-23 but India lost all-rounder Hardik Pandya to injury.

Bowling his fifth over, Pandya fell in his follow through and was stretchered off with a lower back injury, the extent of which was being assessed by the India team's medical staff.

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.

Before the start of the tournament Bangladesh players had been saying that their target was to win the Asia Cup with captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza getting the players together and telling them during session that the team was not going to the UAE just to make up the numbers.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who has been Tigers' saviour in more than one occasion in this tournament knows a thing or two about playing pressure matches against one of their biggest Asian rivals India, who have a certain mental edge over Bangladesh having beaten the Tigers in a closely-fought contest recently in the Nidahas Trophy final where Dinesh Karthik hit a six off the very last ball to clinch the three-nation tournament's final. Mushfiqur, having played many tight contests against India can gauge the level of pressure that accompanies crucial encounters like finals and knows that putting pressure on opposition players who are also 'human beings' can and will work to Bangladesh's advantage.

"Confidence is there although we haven't played our best yet, I feel, in the three departments.

"We have been struggling in the batting group in the top order. If we click there against India [it could make a difference] – and you know India are playing outstanding cricket in this tournament, but they are also human beings and they are bound to make mistakes," he said.

After yesterday's victory in the do-or-die in virtual semifinal game, Tigers are once again just a step away from realizing their dreams, having twice made the final in the last three editions of the tournament. The Asia Cup dream is once again possible and Tigers' batsman Mushfiqur reiterated that they have been working on their goal of reaching the final first.

"Of course it is possible [winning the Asia Cup] . People live in dream and hope. And this was our target before the Asia Cup, that we at least make the final. Then in the championship match if we play our best cricket, then what will happen will happen. Since we have worked this hard and come this far, we of course have a chance."

Tigers were outplayed by India in the last edition of the tournament which was a T20 tournament. However, Mushfiqur said that since Bangladesh have been able to win against India before, the task in front of them is not impossible.

"If we can play our best cricket, then beating India is not impossible – we've done it before. Maybe we have not done it as consistently as we would have liked," he concluded.

The clash between India and Pakistan is considered the most popular fixture in the international cricket calendar.

When it comes to the battle of the two bitter rivals, irrespective of what the platform is, millions of fans across the border and elsewhere in the world eagerly wait to watch the match and there will be no exception when they lock horns today in Asia Cup group A match at the Dubai International Stadium in front of 25,000 crowd.

The game is the first between the sub-continent rivals since Pakistan thumped India by 180 runs in the final of the Champions Trophy at The Oval in June last year.

Rival captains Sarfraz Ahmed and Rohit Sharma played down the hype surrounding the much-awaited India-Pakistan today's clash in Dubai, insisting that the Asia Cup is much more than a contest between the arch-rivals.

But despite their claims, there will be no shortage of fire as the two teams are facing each other for the first time in the United Arab Emirates since 2006, the last of their regular matches which were also held in Sharjah between 1984-2000.

Sarfraz, who led Pakistan in that memorable Champions Trophy triumph, denied that his team will have a psychological advantage.

"We will not take that Champions Trophy win in our minds. That was a different atmosphere (in London) and conditions. It was a year ago so that's history so we will enter the ground with a new strategy and passion" said Sarfraz.

India's regular captain and world-class batsman Virat Kohli has been rested for the competition to help his aching back after a gruelling tour of England but Pakistan skipper refused to accept Kohli's absence will make much difference.

"No doubt he (Kohli) is their captain and a world-class batsman but I think they (India) have a good team even without Kohli. They have good players who have done well for India. So, I don't think it will make much difference to India. Their batting is very strong so I can say that it will be a good match."

Sarfraz also has told his players just to enjoy the occasion.

India have won the event -- which started in 1984 -- six times, while Pakistan have been champions twice.

India skipper Sharma said his team will be looking beyond Pakistan.

"It's always exciting to play Pakistan, but it's not about one team as well. There are other teams also eyeing the title," said Sharma, who has the rare record of scoring three one-day international double hundreds.

Searing UAE heat has become a big concern for the teams but Sharma said: "It's game time, so we have to focus on the game rather than the conditions."