(Image source from: x.com/BCCI)
It only took India 106 balls to kick off their Asia Cup defense with a huge win. They needed just 79 balls to get the UAE out and only 27 balls to reach their target. The UAE’s score of 57 was the lowest any team had posted against India in T20 matches. India’s chase, which lasted 4.3 overs, was the fastest they've ever done in T20s. The UAE entered this match feeling positive after good performances against Pakistan and Afghanistan in their recent tri-series, but all of that was quickly overshadowed by the strong quality of India’s bowling. Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets quickly, marking his return after spending a long time on the bench during a tour of England. From that point forward, it was merely a matter of how fast India would reach their target, and they made it clear with one simple answer: very quickly, thanks to their new opening pair of old friends Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.
There was much interest in India’s lineup for this match, especially concerning their wicketkeeper, bowling order, and the number eight position. India made their selections: Gill took Sanju Samson’s spot as the opener as expected, but Samson kept his role as the wicketkeeper instead of Jitesh Sharma. They chose both spin bowlers, Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy, and added allrounder Shivam Dube to strengthen their batting depth up to number eight, but this left them with only one specialist fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. Some of these choices were surprising. The biggest shock, perhaps, was that India won the toss after losing 15 consecutive tosses across various formats.
For the first time since 2019, Bumrah bowled three overs during the powerplay in a T20I match. He took one wicket, knocking over Alishan Sharafu with a fast yorker, but also allowed four boundaries, three of them in one over to UAE captain Muhammad Waseem. With Sharafu and Waseem hitting six boundaries and a six together, the UAE started well, scoring 41 for 2 in the powerplay. However, things fell apart afterward as they lost their last eight wickets, only adding ten more runs.
Despite losing two wickets during the powerplay, UAE maintained their aggressive approach, yet on this day, they kept losing wickets due to risky shots. They specifically lost three wickets to Kuldeep in the ninth over. First, Rahul Chopra tried to take on the large outfield at the Dubai International Stadium and got caught out. Three balls later, Waseem was out LBW after an unsuccessful sweep against a bowler who designs his stock ball to go straight down the middle. Kuldeep ended the over with his signature wrong’un, bowling out left-handed Harshit Kaushik, and UAE was already five down. India used six bowlers, and five of them managed to take wickets, with Bumrah, who rarely bowls three overs during the powerplay, and Varun and Axar Patel each taking one wicket.
Dube, who played in front of another fast bowler to help India bat deep until the eighth position, took three wickets with his medium pace. This meant he achieved five wickets for 15 runs in four overs in his last two T20Is. It’s important to note that these were his first two T20Is since his bowling was heavily criticized after India used Harshit Rana as a substitute for him when he had a concussion during a match against England in Pune. In this game, Dube ended up taking wickets even when India didn’t need them. In his second over, a straightforward throw from Samson caught Junaid Siddique out of his crease, similar to Jonny Bairstow, after he missed a short delivery. Siddique was initially ruled out stumped, but India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav later retracted the appeal. On the very next ball, Siddique swung at a slower delivery and hit it high in the air, leading to his dismissal, with Suryakumar catching the ball off Dube's bowling.
Abhishek and Gill have been close friends since playing at the Under-14 level, and while they could have enjoyed the moment of opening together for India, they had their minds focused on the game. They scored 48 runs in just 3.4 overs before Abhishek got out, poorly hitting a hard-length ball from Siddique. During their time at the crease, they made several incredible shots. Notably, Gill made an impressive flick for six off Mohammad Rohid, and Abhishek hit a powerful shot over long-off from a shorter ball delivered by the off-spinner Kaushik. India needed only ten runs to win when Abhishek was out, and Suryakumar hit his first ball for six and with Gill, they completed the win in just four more balls.
