Bangladesh were 93/0 after 16th over.

For the second consecutive Asia Cup, India and Bangladesh on Friday meet in the final– a contest between a team that hasn’t lost a match yet and another that’s stuttered before finding its feet.

It's safe to say that India start as the favourites to win their second consecutive Asia Cup title, and seventh overall, when they face Bangladesh in Dubai on Friday, 28 September, reports icc-cricket.com.

They are undefeated in the tournament, have the most potent opening combination among all the teams in the competition – Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are among the top three scorers  – and have picked up wickets with the new ball in all but one game, which has proved out to be a key factor on the slow Dubai pitches that make run-scoring difficult for new batsmen.

The top order will be the hurdle for Bangladesh, and if they can get the Sharma and Dhawan out for not many, things might get interesting.

Bangladesh have their own issues to deal with. It has been a haphazard tournament for them, where they have had to dig deep and fight themselves out of precarious situations. There have been hospital visits, reinforcements flying in from home, and injuries at crucial junctures.

Tamim Iqbal sustained a fracture in his left wrist in the team's first game against Sri Lanka and was ruled out of the rest of the games, and Shakib Al Hasan aggravated an injury to his left little finger hours before the knockout clash against Pakistan and was ruled out of that game as well as the final.

That Bangladesh are still in the final despite two of their most experienced men out is, in most parts, down to the third major wheel of Bangladesh batting machine – Mushfiqur Rahim.

The wicket-keeper batsman has 297 runs at 74.35 with one century, and his 99 against Pakistan on Wednesday acted as a catalyst in Bangladesh's victory after they were 12/3 in the fifth over.

Outside of Rahim and Mohammad Mithun, who has hit two 60s and joined Rahim in big partnerships on two occasions, it hasn't been too consistent. In Iqbal's absence, Bangladesh have tried different combinations at the top with Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain and Soumya Sarkar, but none of them have worked.

The Bangladesh openers have managed 5, 16, 15, 15 and 1 for the first wicket and, clearly, this has been a big problem for them. With India's potent pace attack against them, it's a concern for Mashrafe Mortaza's men.

That said, Imrul Kayes scored a half-century in his first game against Afghanistan after being flown in from Dhaka, and Mahmudullah averages 30.40 – the back-up act hasn't been bad.

On the bowling front, Mustafizur Rahman is the second-highest wicket-taker with eight wickets at 18.37 and has been their main weapon with the new ball as well as at the death. He has Rubel Hossain, captain Mortaza and spinner Mehidy Hasan for company.

Bangladesh are a determined bunch, who have made a habit of toppling big teams. India look too strong on paper, but this could become a super contest if Bangladesh can raise their game.