India defeated UAE by nine wickets to kick off their Asia Cup campaign.
UAE suffered a crushing nine-wicket defeat in their Asia Cup 2025 opener against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (September 10).
Asked to bat first, UAE’s innings folded just 57 in 13.1 overs and the defending champions overhauled a rather small target inside the powerplay (4.3 overs).
Kuldeep Yadav wreaked havoc on the inexperienced UAE batting line-up to return with a four-wicket haul. The likes of Shivam Dube (3/4), Varun Chakaravarthy (1/4), Axar Patel (1/13) and Jasprit Bumrah (1/19) also played their part to perfection.
After the game, UAE head coach Lalchand Rajput admitted that their batters were exposed to such high-quality bowling for the first time and were overawed by the big names in the Indian camp.
"They never play such kind of bowlers, they were overawed by big names," Rajput said in the post-match presser.
Bumrah was the only premier fast bowler featuring in India’s XI for the UAE clash as they left out Arshdeep Singh and went with three spin options in Kuldeep, Varun and Axar.
"World champions will crush teams. It was good till powerplay but once spinners started operating, it changed. There was not much turn but if it's Kuldeep and Varun, even top batters struggle against them.
"Also, if Arshdeep can't make it to playing eleven, it tells you about the (Indian) team's depth," added Rajput.
UAE will next face Oman on September 15 in Abu Dhabi, while India’s second group match is scheduled against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on September 14.
(With PTI Inputs)