Kedar Jadhav put up a heroic show to help India claim their seventh Asia Cup title in 2018. The Men in Blue were up against Bangladesh in the summit clash, which took place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium six years back on this day (September 28).
Jadhav had just returned to the fold after staying out for three months due to a hamstring injury. The spin-bowling all-rounder chipped in with an economical spell in the final where Bangladesh were bundled out for 222 runs. Jadhav bowled nine overs and conceded only 41 runs while picking the important wickets of Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mushfiqur Rahim.
Litton Das was the stand-out batter for Bangladesh. While seven batters of his team returned with a single-digit score, the opener lit up the show with his strokeplay and went on to score his maiden ODI century.
Das struck 12 boundaries and two maximums to register 121 runs off 117 balls. Among others, Miraz and Soumya Sarkar added 32 and 33 runs respectively to the scoresheet.
After the first innings were wrapped up, it seemed like an easy chase for the Rohit Sharma-led India. The Indian captain pulled off a roaring start but his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed at 15 runs in the fifth over. Ajinkya Rahane managed to survive only seven deliveries.
Dinesh Karthik came in next and scored a gritty 37. Rohit missed his half-century by just two runs.
After MS Dhoni returned to the pavilion for 36 runs, India kept their faith in Kedar Jadhav. The all-rounder appeared to be in good form but suffered a right hamstring strain while attempting a quick single.
Despite struggling with the injury, Jadhav had tried to continue batting. He, however, limped off the ground after scoring 23 off 27 balls. Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar made some efforts down in the order before falling victim to Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman respectively.
India were 11 runs behind the target when Kedar Jadhav returned to the crease in the 48th over. He mostly dealt with singles with Kuldeep Yadav holding the wicket at the other end.
The Men in Blue needed one run off the last delivery, with the all-rounder on strike. He failed to connect and the ball ran away to the short-fine leg after hitting his pads. Jadhav and Yadav quickly completed a single as India notched a three-wicket win in the dramatic final.
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