India began their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a aplomb in Dubai on Wednesday. The Men in Blue shot down UAE for a paltry 57 before gunning down the total in quick time. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers with a 4-fer, while Shivam Dube helped himself to 3 wickets.
Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube ram UAE in Dubai
India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and put UAE into bat at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The ‘hosts’ started positively, with Alishan Sharafu playing his shots against Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. However, Bumrah had the last laugh, castling the opener with a peach of a yorker. Varun Chakravarthy also helped himself to a wicket inside the powerplay, with Muhammad Zuhaib’s slog only falling to Suryakumar in the circle.
Post powerplay, it was the Kuldeep Yadav show. The Delhi Capitals star dismissed Rahul Chopra and Muhammad Waseem in the same over to leave UAE reeling at 48/4. Harshit Kaushik was cleaned up next, with Shivam Dube sending Asif Khan packing from the other end. UAE slipped from 47/2 to 57 all out. Kuldeep finished with figures of 4/7, while Shivam Dube struck thrice to finish with figures of 3/4.
India’s chase was pretty straightforward. Abhishek Sharma smashed the first ball for a six and followed it up with a boundary to set the ball rolling. Shubman Gill followed it up with a boundary and a six in the second over to mark his return to India’s T20I side.
It is India’s biggest win in terms of balls left. The victory marks the first time India have chased down a total inside 5
overs, and is their fastest chase in history.
Fastest chase by India in Men’s T20I ( by overs)
- 4.3 overs v U.A.E, Today
- 6.3 overs v SCO, Dubai 2021
- 9.2 overs v BAN, Hangzhou 2023
Major takeaways for India
India made the major call to drop Arshdeep Singh in favour of 3 frontline spinners. The decision paid off with Kuldeep, Varun and Axar snapping 6 wickets. Shivam Dube rose to the occasion to clean up the tail with the ball, adding another bowling option to Suryakumar Yadav’s arsenal. Sanju Samson did not have a chance to bat, which remains a sticking point in India’s batting order. Gill looked assured with Abhishek Sharma as they made light work of UAE’s total.