Asia Cup 2018: India Win Seventh Title by 3 Wickets Off the Last Ball — Liton Das' 121 Wins Player of the Match for Bangladesh

India won the Asia Cup 2018 on 28 September 2018 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE, defeating Bangladesh by 3 wickets off the last ball of the match. Bangladesh scored 222 all out in 48.3 overs; India chased 223/7 in exactly 48.3 overs — the final run coming off the last ball, both innings ending at the same delivery count. Liton Das scored 121 off 117 balls — a maiden ODI century — as Player of the Match from the losing Bangladesh team. Shikhar Dhawan won Player of the Tournament with 342 runs in 5 innings at an average of 68.40. Rohit Sharma captained India; Mashrafe Mortaza captained Bangladesh. It was India's seventh Asia Cup title.

Liton Das 121 Off 117: A Maiden Century That Set Up Bangladesh's Competitive Total

Liton Das' 121 off 117 balls — a maiden ODI century in the Asia Cup 2018 final — was the batting performance that gave Bangladesh's innings its match-threatening quality. Bangladesh's 222 all out, built on Das' century, was a total that made India's chase of 223 competitive across all 48.3 overs — India needing the last ball to complete the win at 223/7. Das winning Player of the Match from the losing side reflected how close the final was: Bangladesh's 222 being only 1 run short of defending, with India taking the last wicket on ball 48.3 to win by 3 wickets. Das' century gave Bangladesh the total their bowling almost defended — the kind of match-winning individual performance from the losing team that PoM awards occasionally produce when the final margin is as narrow as a single last-ball run.

Both Innings at 48.3 Overs: The Exact Match-Length Symmetry of a Last-Ball Win

The coincidence of both the Bangladesh innings (222 all out, 48.3 overs) and India's chase (223/7, 48.3 overs) ending at the exact same ball — both concluding on the 48.3rd delivery of their respective innings — gave the 2018 Asia Cup final one of cricket's most remarkable symmetrical scoreline moments. Bangladesh being bowled out off ball 48.3, and India winning off ball 48.3 — a last-ball single completing the championship-winning run — meant that every ball of both innings had been played and the result came on the final delivery available. India's 3-wicket win off the last ball, with Rohit Sharma's team having needed a last-ball single to avoid losing to Bangladesh, gave the 2018 Asia Cup final its place as one of the closest ODI tournament finals in Asia Cup history.

Asia Cup 2018 in Context

The Asia Cup 2018 — played in ODI format in the UAE in September 2018 — was the 14th edition of the competition. India's last-ball 3-wicket win over Bangladesh — Liton Das' 121 giving Bangladesh 222 all out, India's 223/7 requiring the last delivery — gave the 2018 final one of the competition's narrowest results by margin. Rohit Sharma's captaincy of India's Asia Cup campaign across the UAE conditions — different from the subcontinental pitches India typically dominate on — producing a seventh Asia Cup title reflected India's white-ball batting depth (Dhawan 342 tournament runs) and bowling consistency that Bangladesh's 222 all out, while competitive, ultimately could not defend off the last ball.