Pakistan were visibly a relieved team after staving off a stiff challenge from hosts Bangladesh to clinch their 2nd Asia Cup title in front of a stunned crowd. It was also the second time during the course of this edition that the Tigers came close to winning against Pakistan before faltering towards the end.

It was perhaps the first time in this tournament that Misbah showed an inclination to set attacking fields during the middle overs which paid rich dividends. He also marshaled his troops admirably to defend a relatively modest target in the final for which he deserves lot of credit.

Quite remarkably, it was also the first time in the tournament’s 28-year history that the Sri Lankans failed to make it to the final of the Asia Cup. They simply failed to repeat the heroics that took them to the finals of last month’s World Series Cup in Australia and obviously missed Angelo Matthews — their leading all-rounder — who had to sit out due to an injury.

As for the Indians, they were arguably the best team of the tournament but were unlucky to miss out on a place in the final.

They beat the Sri Lankans and Pakistanis comprehensively and would have surely won against Bangladesh had Tendulkar played the way he can. His free flowing innings against Pakistan proved that even at the age of 38, he is fully capable of dominating the opposition. However, against Bangladesh, his eagerness to get to his 100th ‘international’ century seemed to have made him extra cautious. It took him 44 balls to make the last 25 runs he needed to achieve the personal milestone. The outcome might have been different had India scored another 20-25 runs.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, were the surprise package of the tournament. It is evident that they have become a competent limited-overs side at home and the recently-concluded Bangladesh Premier League has polished the skills of a majority of their players quite appreciably.

Above all, they have unearthed a few exciting youngsters who can hold their nerves during tense situations. The name of Nasir Hossain instantly comes to mind; the talented batsman has impressed in his short career but played an uncharacteristic innings in the final. His failure to force the pace during the middle overs contributed towards the asking rate climbing up. Opener Tamim Iqbal vindicated his selection with four consecutive fifties while Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim showed excellent fighting qualities. Return of Mashrafe Mortaza is also a welcome boost for them.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, they have got every reason to be jubilant; however, it is important for the team management to identify the weak areas and work towards rectifying the same. Ironically, Pakistan’s two best batsmen Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq continue to draw criticism from some quarters. Younis has performed well in patches but of late has failed to put his hand up in big matches.

Misbah, on the other hand, averages an extremely impressive 42 with the bat and boasts a reasonable strike rate of 75.

However, he has shown an inability to accelerate at crucial junctures of the game which has lt the team down on a few occasions. Perhaps, new coach Dav Whatmore needs to work with them in order to work out a solution here.

Nasir Jamshed’s return provided Pakistan with some much-needed aggression at the top of the order. But he still needs to work on his game to stem his place in the side.

Explosive lower order batsmen have traditionally been Pakistan’s strength and power hitters such as Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal have won many a matches for Pakistan. Today, Pakistan need a few to use the long-handle in death overs and Hammad Azam is one such player in our ranks. He seems to be a worthy replacement for Abdul Razzaq but it is imperative that he gets ample opportunities to showcase his potential.

Sarfraz Ahmed, also had a good final and looked dependable behind the stumps although he was struggling to rotate the strike at one point. Amongst the bowlers, medium-fast Aizaz Cheema impressed under pressure, especially with his superb last over in the final. But it was disappointing to see Wahab Riaz struggling to keep a consistent line and length during his solitary appearance of the tournament.

Pakistan’s next ODI assignment is against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka during May-June. The selectors and the team management need to carry out a thorough analysis of the Asia Cup and chalk out an effective strategy to counter the Sri Lankans who will be desperate to restore their reputation on their homeland.