Dhaka: Bangladesh will count on its motivated players and a huge home support to see through the challenge of facing the world number one India in the final of the Asia Cup Twenty20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka on Sunday.

Rains coupled with gusty winds have delayed the start of the Asia Cup final.

Thousands of fans who spent hours in the queues to collect tickets for the match were drenched or forced to take shelter under the galleries due to the unexpected downpour.

The tickets for the apex clash vanished the moment the host ensured the final berth downing the mighty Pakistan in the league phase.  

The 13th Asia Cup final presents an opportunity for newly assertive Bangladesh to make history by winning the title for the very first time.

Indeed, it would be the Tigers’ first victory in any tournament competed by cricket’s elite Test-playing nations.

The fifth-time Asian champions will go in as firm favourites against the hosts, yet no-one who has seen the brand of cricket Bangladesh have played in the last 18 months or so under stirring skipper Mashrafe Mortaza will dare rule out an upset.

In the build-up to the final, the Bangladesh skipper was keen to relieve his team of any undue pressure that is likely to accrue, thanks to the attention of almost 160 million Bangladeshis set to focus squarely on Mirpur for the duration of the final.  

As far as team news is concerned, concerns were raised over the fitness of the Bangladesh’s most proficient cricketer, leading all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, after he walked off from practice on Friday gingerly nursing a limp. But yesterday it was confirmed that it wasn’t so serious as to rule him out of the big occasion.  

Any strategic changes are being kept close to the chest by both teams, but there’s a strong report that Abu Hider Rony, the young pace sensation from the last BPL series, will be thrust into the side for Bangladesh, to provide some of the variety that went missing when Mustafizur Rahman got injured in the middle of the tournament.

There is also discussion of Nasir Hossain, who broke into the Bangladesh set-up during their one previous run to the final of the Asia Cup, in 2012, playing in the final to replace Mohammad Mithun, who has largely disappointed the team.

On other hand, India appeared more composed ahead of the clash. But the home team could not suppress its eagerness to grab the crown for the first time. Having lost the final – which was previously played in ODI format – by two runs against Pakistan at the same venue in 2012, Bangladesh is desperate for a win.

MS Dhoni’s India are set to revert back to their best combination without any injury concerns against Bangladesh, after testing their bench against the United Arab Emirates.   

India — who have won nine of their last 10 Twenty20 internationals — will start the final as favourites, but Dhoni said nothing could be taken for granted, especially in the shortest format of international cricket.

His side are five-times winners of the Asia Cup, which takes place every two years, although India's winning meets were all held in the previous 50-over one-day international format.

Ravindra Jadeja, Ashish Nehra and Ravichandran Ashwin will slot back in for Pawan Negi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harbhajan Singh.

Top-ranked India crushed Bangladesh by 45 runs in the opening match of the tournament, but the hosts have since executed a turnaround, winning three matches on the trot to qualify for the final.

Bangladesh's five-wicket win over Pakistan on Wednesday, watched by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from a packed gallery, sparked jubilation in the cricket-mad nation.

-Teams from-

Bangladesh Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza, Abu Hider, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed

India Squad: MS Dhoni, R Ashwin, JJ Bumrah, S Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, RA Jadeja, V Kohli, B Kumar, P Negi, A Nehra, HH Pandya, PA Patel†, AM Rahane, SK Raina, RG Sharma, Yuvraj Singh