(Image source from: The Indian Express)

India retained their seventh Asia Cup against Bangladesh after winning a last-ball thriller by three wickets in Dubai on Friday.

Kuldeep Yadav and Kedar Jadhav held their nerve to take India to a thrilling three-wicket victory. The win as well shattered Bangladesh's dream of winning their maiden Asia Cup title while the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team secure the prestigious title for a record seven times.

Stand-in India skipper Rohit Sharma commended his players for handling pressure well beside playing quality cricket throughout the tournament. "We played some good cricket throughout the tournament and this is the reward of all the hard work throughout the tournament", Rohit said at the post-match presentation. "If you have a team like that, the captain will always look good," he said.

Chasing an acceptable 223-run target, India lost wickets at regular intervals to make the contest unforeseeable.

Rohit likewise praised Bangladesh for their fighting spirit in a do-or-die contest.

"You have to give some credit to Bangladesh. They put us under pressure in the first 10 overs," said the 31-year-old right-hander.

"It wouldn't be easy if we didn't have the support of the remaining 10 players, so I am really proud of the boys," the India skipper said praising his teammates.

On the other hand, commenting on the match, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza said, "We bowled really well, particularly if we made 240+. We asked the batsmen to make at least 260, but at the end of the day the bowlers did really well."

"I wanted to bowl the quicks first because I wanted to restrict the runs since they were going after us and trying to play shots at that stage," he added.

By Sowmya Sangam