Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Kuldeep Yadav was the wrecker-in-chief with extraordinary figures of 4 for 7, as India thrashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by nine wickets to open their Asia Cup campaign in a commanding fashion in Dubai on September 10. On a cool evening at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE made a promising start by reaching 47/2 in eight overs, with opener Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu finding early boundaries. But after that, it became an evening for them to forget.
Kuldeep came in and took three wickets in his second over to lead the charge for a sensational UAE batting meltdown, as the side lost their next eight wickets for just 10 runs. Their score of 57 in 13.1 overs is also the lowest men’s T20I score for a team playing against India. Shivam Dube, operating as India’s third seam bowling option, chipped in with three wickets to further derail UAE’s innings, while Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel chipped in with a wicket apiece. Abhishek Sharma (30) and Shubman Gill (20 not out) tore into the UAE bowling attack with an array of dazzling strokes to complete the chase in just 27 balls.
The duo along with skipper Suryakumar Yadav (seven not out) ensured India stormed to a new record for their fastest chase in men’s T20I history – needing just 4.3 overs to complete the chase and victory in an emphatic fashion, along with giving themselves a massive net run rate boost. After India pushed UAE into batting first, Sharafu got two thick edged boundaries off Hardik Pandya, before clipping Bumrah for four and lofting inside-out against Axar for a beautifully timed six. His fun ended at 22 when Bumrah castled him by flattening his off-stump with a pitch perfect yorker.
