India’s left arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav snapped up 4 wickets against the UAE to help the Men in Blue start their Asia Cup campaign on a winning note. Yadav accounted for the likes of UAE captain Muhammad Waseem, Rahul Chopra, Harshit Kaushik and Haider Ali while giving away just 7 runs as India skittled away the hosts for just 57 runs.
“Thanks to Adrian (Le Roux) the trainer. Was working on my bowling and my fitness as well, everything is going perfectly. Tried to hit the right length and it matters a lot, reading the batters on what they are trying to do. Even today as well, reacting to what the batters would do on the next ball,” Kuldeep said in the post-match comments.
Yadav’s artistry was too much for a clueless UAE to comprehend as India hardly broke a sweat in an emphatic nine-wicket victory.
Kuldeep didn’t show any signs of rustiness as India dismissed the home team for a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs and then cantered home in just 4.3 overs.
Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls) continued his blazing run in the company of best friend Shubman Gill (20 not out off nine), who also looked in ominous touch on his return to T20 cricket.
Call it an irony, it was left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh, who once bowled to Shubman in his pre-teens, was hit for the winning runs by the Indian vice-captain.
India’s batting effort was more like a highlights package and a glorified net session with UAE bowlers having very little clue on where to pitch the ball.
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That the match would end way before time was clear once captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to field.
The bowling plans laid by Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar were perfectly executed by the unit with the Dubai track helping the skillful Indian spinners.
Kuldeep, who had a frustrating time in the UK after warming the bench for five straight Tests, was too good for the UAE batters. UAE lost as many eight wickets for 10 runs after being 47 for two in the ninth over.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/19 in 3 overs) started the slide with a perfect yorker to remove Kerala born Alishan Sharafu (22 off 17 balls), who had till then survived audaciously with three boundaries and a six.
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Once Bumrah landed a perfect one at the base of Sharafu’s boots, UAE’s promising start turned into a sorry tale with batters making a beeline back to the dug-out.
The troika of spinners — Kuldeep, Varun Chakravarthy (1/4 in 2 overs) and Axar Patel (1/13 in 3 overs) are bowlers whom the players from associate nations don’t play regularly and UAE had no clue how to counter them.
Shivam Dube (3/4 in 2 overs), whose bowling is going to be important heading into T20 World Cup, helped himself with career-best figures, polishing off the tail in style.
(With agency inputs)
