Asia Cup 2018 Final: India vs Bangladesh: Key battles that can change the match

Shikhar Dhawan/Rohit Sharma vs Mustafizur Rahman

Mustafizur is a wonderful limited over bowler. He has good enough pace to hustle the batsmen but his strength is accuracy and unending variations. He has cutters, slower bouncer, yorker, you name it and Mustafizur has it.

He is a left-arm pacer too and many Indian batsmen would not cherish facing a southpaw. But what goes in favour of India is the presence of Dhawan and skipper Rohit.

Both are in sublime form in this tournament, notching up a hundred each. Mustafizur, who took four wickets against Pakistan, will certainly have a big task at his hand.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz vs Indian top-order

The 20-year-old off-spinner is one of the brightest stars in Bangladesh cricket. He took the new ball against Pakistan and took the wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, their best ODI batsmen.

Imagine a situation where Mehidy picks up the wickets of Dhawan and Rohit upfront and India could be in a real soup.

We have seen Indian middle-order struggling against Afghanistan spinners in the last match. But that's easier said than done as both the Indian openers, who are certain to return for the final, are in good form.

Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal vs Mushfiqur Rahim

The diminutive Mushfiqur is a towering presence at the crease. He can be destructive and also has the ability to manage the chase under pressure.

With 297 runs with a hundred and a fifty, Mushfiqur is the second highest run-getter in this Asia Cup behind Dhawan (327 runs) and few steps ahead of Rohit (269 runs). But Mushfiqur will have his match in chinaman Kuldeep and leggie Chahal. How Mushfiqur counter their bag of tricks will have a huge impact on the game.

Dark Horse: Mashrafe Mortaza

At 34 and several injuries later, Mashrafe is no longer the old force. His pace has dropped down considerably and shows glimpses of destructive abilities with bat very occasionally. But his mere presence gives Bangladesh a lot of confidence and Mashrafe has a good record against India.

Can he conjure another mini-epic against his old foe? Can't write off that possibility entirely.