Already in final, India to test bench strength

Dubai, September 24 

Having already sealed their place in the final of the Asia Cup with successive wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan, defending champions India will now face a resurgent Afghanistan in the final match of the Super-4 stage at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

On Sunday, India made a mockery of Pakistan’s below-par target of 237 with the opening duo of skipper Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stitching together a 210-run stand to guide the Men in Blue to a 9-wicket win en route the September 28 final.

India had earlier defeated Bangladesh in their first Super-4 match to remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament so far. India will be aiming to continue their dominance over the Asian newbies, who have managed to give a tough fight in their narrow defeats to the likes of Pakistan and Bangladesh in their Super-4 clashes. While Pakistan managed to win a last-over thriller over the Afghans by three wickets, Bangladesh on Sunday pipped Afghanistan by three runs to set up a virtual semifinal with Pakistan on Wednesday.

Aware of the threat the Afghans could pose, Rohit Sharma and the team management could opt to rest some of the main players ahead of the final and test the bench strength. Lokesh Rahul and Manish Pandey could get a look-in in the middle order. — PTI