Formidable India will lock horns Sunday with Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 2016 Final at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
India have reached the final of the Asia Cup after crushing all their opponents. MS Dhoni and Co have the momentum with them, and will look to end this tournament on a high note just ahead of the ICC World T20 2016, which starts from March 8 in India.
Bangladesh, too, will be confident after they thrashed the UAE, Sri Lanka and Pakistan in a row in order to make it to the final to face the seemingly unstoppable Team India.
Click here for Preview, live streaming links and TV information of the India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup Final.
But the hosts may have to take the field without their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who took a blow to his hip flexor during a training session Friday. If Shakib fails to gain match fitness, it will be a huge blow for the hosts. Bangladeshi fans definitely do not want that to happen, and are praying the talented all-rounder recovers as quickly as possible ahead of the Asia Cup Final.
"Shakib got this injury during training Friday. We call it a contusion, after he was struck on the hip flexor of his thigh muscle. He is quite well now. It was optional training today and we had asked him not to train," Bangladesh team physio Bayejidul Islam Khan was quoted as saying Saturday by ESPN Cricinfo.
"But he still went at it for a while though he didn't practice much. He will recover before tomorrow's match. Normally it takes 48 hours to recover, and we are hoping that it is the case."
Captain Mashrafe Mortaza has already agreed to the fact that they will miss their strike bowler Mustafizur Rahman in the Asia Cup Final. Rahman, who was injured during their encounter against Sri Lanka, has been ruled out of the Asia Cup T20 2016.
Click here for the India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup Final Schedule.
But Mortaza is happy to see his other fast bowlers like Taskin Ahmed and Al Amin Hossain, who have stepped up in the absence of Rahman in recent times.
"We are playing without our best bowler [Mustafizur Rahman] to be honest but Taskin and Al-Amin bowled well in the last game," Mashrafe added.
"This is a good sign for a team that's growing. When your best payer isn't there still you are performing. This is a good sign."
Meanwhile, India have no injury concerns whatsoever. MS Dhoni did have an issue with back spasm earlier in the tournament, but is absolutely fit now. Dhoni will also opt for his best XI after he tested his bench strength against the UAE in their last match.
The conditions are going to be the same. The pitch is likely to be devoid of grass that was predominantly present during the first few matches of the Asia Cup. The dew factor will come into play later in the evening as well. Thus, the toss becomes important.
Possible playing XI:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (C & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah.
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shakib Al Hasan/Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Arafat Sunny/Abu Hider, Mohammad Mithun, Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain.
