Asia Cup 2014: What India gained despite debacle

Indian players endured a heart-breaking loss against Pakistan. (AFP Photo)

India may be virtually out of Asia Cup after defeats against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but they have still made some gains that should enthuse the team management. 

Virat Kohli's captaincy: Stand-in captainVirat Kohli has shown he has leadership qualities. In the opener against Bangladesh, he led from the front by slamming 136 to script an easy win after India had stuttered at the start. In the next two games, he was left defending moderate scores on flat tracks, with the dew factor making things tougher. 

Kohli's aggressive style of captaincy has shades of Sourav Ganguly, and fires up his teammates as well. Tactically, he proved his reading of the conditions was spot on by picking three spinners, including the much-ignored Amit Mishra, against Pakistan. His praise for teammates after the heart-breaking loss to Pakistan is admirable, and shows he is willing to back them even in tough times. 

Amit Mishra's 'resurrection': When was the last time you saw an Indian bowler concede merely 28 runs in 10 overs and take two wickets? Playing his first international game in close to six months,Amit Mishra showed little rustiness. His show against Pakistan showed what an exciting option an attacking leg-spinner provides to the team. 

It isn't easy for a leg-spinner to find his groove when he hardly gets to play, but Mishra was on the ball and bamboozled even quality players of spin. Now the big question: Will Mishra enjoy Dhoni's confidence too? 

Ravindra Jadeja's emergence as all-rounder: This 25-year-old, once ridiculed as Dhoni's 'favourite,' seems to be finally coming of age and is the leading all-rounder in the team currently. While Pakistan nullified his threat by going after him early on, the youngster was terrific with the ball in the other two games. 

It is with the bat, though, that the Saurashtra man is now looking like solving a critical problem for the team, by making useful contributions at No. 7. 

Rahane and Rayudu's encouraging show: Though Ajinkya Rahane is an almost certainty in Test cricket for India now, the young turk is yet to seal his ODI spot. In the first game though, Rahane showed that he was keen to do that as well as he played the perfect foil to Kohli, stroking a calm 73 in a 213-run match-winning stand with the skipper. A couple of knocks more like this, and the Mumbaikar could be a different batsman altogether. His energetic fielding at point and cover gives India a definite advantage. 

Ambati Rayudu too would feel much more confident after his 62-ball 58 against Pakistan. Having been preferred over the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina for a middle-order berth, Rayudu knows it was a knock that should guarantee him a few more games
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