Asia Cup 2025, UAE vs IND: Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dube dismantle UAE’s batting before India chase the target in just 27 balls.
Brief Scores: India 60/1 (Abhishek Sharma 30, Shubman Gill 20*, Junaid Siddique 1/16) beat UAE 57 (Alishan Sharafu 22, Kuldeep Yadav 4/7, Shivam Dube 3/4) by 9-wickets with 93 balls to spare.
India started their preparation for the T20 World Cup 2026 at home, and Sri Lanka through the 2025 edition of the Men’s T20 Asia Cup. They had been in phenomenal form with the previous home T20I series victory against England. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, the aim was to make a dominating start in their opening clash against the United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India won the toss and decided to bowl first on a surface they anticipated would get better in the second innings. Their captain revealed that they were not sure of the surface’s behavior as the ground hadn’t hosted any game for the last few months. Amidst all the speculations of the wicket-keeper’s slot, the management kept Sanju Samson in the middle order.
Surprisingly, they didn’t pick Arshdeep Singh, who has 99 T20I wickets as of now. Instead, they went with the third spin bowling option in Kuldeep Yadav. For the UAE, it was another chance to showcase its talent in the shortest format.
Talking point: Kuldeep Yadav’s 4/7 and Sanju Samson’s inclusion
Samson’s inclusion has backed the head coach Gautam Gambhir’s statement of backing the right-handed batter. Many expected Jitesh Sharma to bat in the middle order, but that was a googly from the management.
Kuldeep’s four wickets were a great sign for the Blue Brigade. He was featuring in a T20I for the first time since the T20 World Cup 2024 final. Shivam Dube’s three wickets have also opened more bowling options for the captain.
Read More: Varun Chakravarthy & Kuldeep Yadav in T20 cricket: A comparative analysis
Kuldeep Yadav’s 4/7 blew away UAE for 57 in 13.1 overs
When Alishan Sharafu clubbed Hardik Pandya for two boundaries in the opening over, many expected a fight from the UAE. The right-handed batter used a lovely lofted drive for six against Axar Patel. He also picked up the length quickly from Jasprit Bumrah to flick him for a boundary. But it didn’t last long. Bumrah’s pinpoint yorker sent back Sharafu for 22 runs in 17 balls.
Kuldeep Yadav broke the opponent’s back in the ninth over when he picked up three wickets in a span of six balls. Shivam Dube got the chance to roll his arms and recorded three wickets in two overs. Apart from their openers, all the UAE batters ended in single-digit scores. From 47/2, they lost their last eight wickets for 10 runs and got bundled out for 57 in 13.1 overs.
India complete successful chase by nine wickets in 4.3 overs
On the very first ball of the chase, Abhishek Sharma lifted Haider Ali over the long-off region for a six. He backed it with a boundary on the very next ball. Shubman Gill, the vice-captain, also charged a boundary through point before flicking Rohid Khan for a six.
Abhishek clubbed Dhruv for a six in the third over from the back foot, which proved his incredible timing. He got out for 30 runs in 16 balls before Sky opened his account with a six to fine leg. Gill finished it off with a boundary on the backfoot as they completed the chase by nine wickets in 4.3 overs.
Read More: India’s bowlers have taken 185 wickets in middle overs (7-15) in T20Is post T20 World Cup 2022
Statistical highlights from IND vs UAE clash in Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025
- Kuldeep Yadav has registered the second-best bowling figure of 4/7 for India in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar tops the chart with 5/4 against Afghanistan in 2022.
- UAE have scored the lowest T20I score (57) against India in T20Is
- Jasprit Bumrah is India’s third leading wicket-taker (07) in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup.
- UAE got all out in 13.1 overs. This is the fourth-least ball for an all-out score by any team against India in T20Is.
- UAE have recorded the second-lowest score (57) in the Men’s T20 Asia Cup. Hong Kong’s 38 vs Pakistan in 2022 stays at the top.
- This is India’s biggest win in terms of balls remaining (93) in T20Is.
Points table scenario and what’s next
Thanks to their incredible victory, India have topped the Group-A with a mad net run-rate of +10.48. They will now head to the most-anticipated clash of the event against Pakistan. That clash will take place on September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
UAE will turn up against Oman on September 15 in an afternoon clash in Abu Dhabi.
Absolute peach from Kuldeep Yadav to get rid of Harshit.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 10, 2025
Read More: Numerical story of India’s batting dominance in T20Is post T20 WC 2022
