Team India opened their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a thumping nine-wicket victory over UAE at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday (September 10).
Opting to bowl first, India bowled out UAE for only 57 in 13.1 overs. Kuldeep Yadav stole the show with a four-wicket haul (4/7), while 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.
In reply, the defending champions gunned down a rather small target inside the powerplay (4.3 overs), with opener Abhishek Sharma playing a quick-fire knock of 30 runs in 16 balls and vice-captain Shubman Gill finishing the job with 20* off 9 balls.
After the lopsided affair, former cricketer-turned-analyst Ajay Jadeja has raised questions over whether the continental showpiece should be an eight-team competition.
“There is no doubt that India are the superior team, but there was no contest at all. There is sadness because of the way the UAE approached their entire innings. I admit you can't compete against India, but you didn't even play 20 overs,” Jadeja said on Sony Sports.
“No matter how polite I might wish to be, it needs to be said that when we are talking about such a big tournament, and the Asia Cup is not a small tournament, they will have to reconsider whether they should keep eight teams because this is not encouragement, but a discouragement, because of the way they performed,” he explained.
India are massively ahead in terms of skill-set and quality, but some poor shot selection from the opposition batters caught the attention of Jadeja.
“Apart from the first three players, Alishan Sharifu and Muhammad Waseem, the captain, they don't have the talent. Asif Khan is a good player; there is no doubt about that. However, that quality, competitiveness, and edge were not seen at all,” Jadeja remarked.
India are the current table-toppers of Group A, with a staggering net-run-rate of +10.483 and will now lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14. On the other hand, UAE will look to regroup themselves when they face Oman on September 15 in their second group match.
