India won the toss and opted to field first against Bangladesh in the final of the Asia Cup in Dubai International Stadium.
Rohit Sharma is back as the Indian captain and so are Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal. The experiment to check the bench strength ended with the last Super 4 game. KL Rahul, despite scoring an attacking 60 in the last game has to sit out again.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma put the emphasis of putting runs on the board in the final.
"Runs on the board is important, but we've done well fielding first throughout the tournament, so I feel like we don't need to change anything. The guys have delivered over course of the tournament, and there's just one last hurdle to cross. The guys have come out and delivered and that's the reason I am standing here today," said Rohit.
"The ball might skid onto the bat from the grass patches. The ball tends to skid better under lights. There was some grip and turn for the spinners, especially for the Afghans and Jadeja. The cracks might loosen up because of the sun baking it, and that will help the ball to grip a little for the spinners. Definitely a bat-first pitch," recon Ramiz Raja and Sunil Gavaskar at the pitch report.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, have made, one change to their playing XI, bringing in left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam in place of top-order batsman Mominul Haque.
"Credit goes to the boys for the way they stood out in the last few games. Today is another big match but we have to take the pressure off, play hard, and fight it out till the last ball. They (India) are the best side for a reason. We have a great chance but there is always the pressure in a final so we're just going out there and looking to win the game," said Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Liton Das(w), Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah