>India’s triumph in the Asia Cup will have surprised no one. It would appear that not only are M.S. Dhoni’s men the best Twenty20 outfit in world cricket, as evidenced by their No.1 ranking, they are also close to impossible to master in the subcontinent. The win — India’s sixth Asia Cup title and its first in this shortened format — was not merely a statement of regional dominance. The India team would now assume that it has served notice to anyone who might have designs on the World Twenty20, which will be hosted in the country over the next four weeks. Bangladesh might have briefly threatened a coup in the rain-shortened final — it deserves great credit for its brave, attacking cricket all tournament — but few teams are as adept at the chase under pressure as India. The batting unit contains a mix of disruptive firepower and nerveless skill, contest-ending weapons both. When deployed calmly — with the certainty that comes from doing it repeatedly, as India’s batsmen have in the Indian Premier League — no target is safe. As team director Ravi Shastri said after the final, this is a unit that knows how to get the job done — a truism on the face of it, but, as Germany has shown in international football tournaments, one that has been coined to explain the unexplainable. In sport, there is such a thing as the ‘tournament team’. Australia is the most obvious example this era in cricket. Dhoni-led teams haven’t been far off, however; indeed the current one enters the World T20 as the overwhelming favourite.
This is not to say India is without vulnerability. As Mohammad Amir proved again in helpful conditions, no batsman enjoys the combination of pace, bounce and movement. The Pakistani left-armer’s spell was one of the moments of the Asia Cup — heart warming and eye-catching in equal measure, given his road back from perdition and the sheer spectacle great fast-bowling sets up. But it was just that: a moment. For a side to subject India’s batting, it will need more. And considering it is unlikely that India will play on wickets that assist the pacemen to the same degree in the World T20, the chances of an encore are remote. Mystery spin is the other thing that has challenged India in the past; there doesn’t seem to be enough of it around this time, however. Perhaps the greatest dangers to India’s batting comes from within: complacency and ego. The bowling still needs work; it can unravel when attacked. But Jasprit Bumrah and his unique action offer India a difference-maker, in support of R. Ashwin. The others will need careful handling, but Dhoni, perhaps the finest reactive captain in the game, is adept at it. The fielding moreover is world-class, so chances will be taken and occasionally created. The Asia Cup was a title to be won, but also preparation; having achieved both objectives in some style, India will be confident about what lies ahead.
