Mumbai: In their first game at the Asia Cup 2025, Team India played a masterclass and shut out the United Arab Emirates with a massive nine-wicket victory at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
After winning the toss in this Group A clash, the Men in Blue decided to field first and achieved the target in just 27 balls, scoring 58 runs without losing their dominance in the match.
Before this unchallenged domination, they had completely destroyed the hosts, who, after a weak start, were bowled out for 57 runs.
The way UAE batters fell one after another made it look like the innings was a paper house that was going to blow away in the wind, i.e., the Indian bowling was so relentless. Captain Muhammad Waseem scored 19 runs, while Alishan Sharafu scored 22, but no other batter managed to get to ten runs.
The blow was so strong and ruthless the team members, who folded the project, went all in for less than 10 overs. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav led the charge with four flaming wickets for seven runs only in 2.1 overs, totally confusing the UAE top order with his tricks. Surprisingly Shivam Dube, who was very good with the ball, took three wickets for only four runs in two overs, thus becoming a real nightmare for the middle order. Bumrah, the fast, pacing leader, left-arm spinner Axar, and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy each picked a wicket to help India maintain its tight grip on the game.
Instead of wasting time, India’s openers immediately changed the match into a farce when they faced a revised target of 58. First, Abhishek Sharma, the young gun, scored 30 runs off 15 balls, with two fours and three towering sixes, his aggressive strokeplay setting the mood for the rest of the match. Shubman Gill was instrumental in guiding the team calmly to success as he scored an unbeaten 16 off eight balls, which was perfect to finish the match.
Suryakumar Yadav, promoted up the order, only needed one delivery to hit a six, remain not out and demonstrate the strength of the batting lineup. The win came in 4.3 overs with only one wicket down, meaning UAE was completely surprised and India is now firmly in control of the tournament.
Besides advancing India’s net run rate, this success truly establishes India as the favourite against group stage rivals such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
As with the Asia Cup, which is centred around high-intensity limited-overs battles, India’s world-class bowling and explosive batting combinations will delight spectators with more fireworks.
The Blue Brigade’s campaign is getting hotter as the desert heats are cooling, and they are looking at another continental crown.