Cricket frenzy reached its peak as a passionate and sprightly Bangladesh square off against a formidable India in their quest for continental supremacy in the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20 today at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. If the ICC ranking (India’s 1st vs Bangladesh’s 10th) is taken into the consideration, India, unstoppable so far with clinical performances, are overwhelmingly favourites but it counts little in a format where the complexion of the game can be changed in a flush of eye.
Bangladesh got a blow on the eve of the final with the premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan suffering thigh muscle injury. He was unable to practice yesterday but according to the team physio Shakib should be fit ahead of the final. Nasir Hossain is likely to replace him if Shakib couldn’t make it. When India rely on the talented group of players , Bangladesh’s main strength lies in their team unity and obviously the passionate home crowd who used to create an awful din. Whatever the caliber of the team, it’s not easy for an overseas team to deny the deafening crowd. Dhoni and co has to fight with two opponents at the same time. They had already got the taste of how the crowd roared in the round robin league game against Bangladesh when they overcame them by 45 runs, recovering from a shaky start. But the intensity of the crowd will be much higher in the final. The battle to collect the ticket for the final has been going on for the last three days amid the baton charge of the police who also put tear shell to make the public disarray. Yet no one is ready to give up the hope of getting a ticket. No wonder those would be lucky enough to enter the stadium will create a thunderous environment. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza even said those passionate crowd is the source of their inspiration of clinching the final. So

he vowed to pay off what the crowd has been giving them over the years.
“Our biggest strength has always been our crowd. If they weren’t there we wouldn’t have been inspired so much. They have sacrificed a lot and so I think this is a big opportunity for us. If we can do something big, then it will be really good. This is a big opportunity for us,” said Mashrafe ahead of the final.
So it is not going to be an easy job for Dhoni and his men when Mashrafe’s boys try to put them under the pump in a floodlit Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. There will be individual battle in the grand battle that promised to make it an intriguing summit clash. Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has already announced to make the final of his own, so there is countdown how he fares against the surprise element of Jasprit Bumrah. There is an eager wait to see how young Soumya Sarkar deal with seasoned Ashish Nehra or how Rohit Sharma responded against pacy Taskin Ahmed. Those factors could be a spectator’s delight. The only missing link will be Mustafizur Rahman, out with a Grade I side strain.
Bangladesh are unlikely to make any change to the squad unless Shakib fails to overcome fitness test.  After giving the reserve bench an opportunity, India are expected to bring back their usual playing XI with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan opening the innings. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be looking at a bigger picture as the Asian title will mark the perfect preparation before the ICC World T20 at home. His opposite number Mashrafe Mortaza is not at all looking that far ahead as an Asian title will mean a watershed moment for T20 cricket in the country and a solid boost before they face the Netherlands, Ireland and Oman in the qualifying round of the marquee event in picturesque Dharamsala.