India vs United Arab Emirates Highlights, Asia Cup 2025: India launch title defense in style with nine-wicket thrashing of UAE

India made a ruthless start to their Asia Cup 2025 campaign, crushing the United Arab Emirates by nine wickets in Dubai.

Opting to bowl, the defending champions skittled UAE for just 57 in 13.1 overs, with Kuldeep Yadav’s mesmerizing 4/7 and Shivam Dube’s career-best 3/4 leading the charge. Jasprit Bumrah struck early with a trademark yorker to dismiss top-scorer Alishan Sharafu (22), and the collapse never stopped.

In reply, India stormed to 60/1 in only 4.3 overs — their fastest-ever T20I win — as Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16) and Shubman Gill (20* off 9) powered the chase.

Rohit Sharma off Adil Rashid Ahmedabad 2021
Yashasvi Jaiswal off Sikandar Raza Harare 2024
Sanju Samson off Jofra Archer Mumbai WS 2025
Abhishek Sharma off Haider Ali Dubai 2025

93 - Net vs SL Chattogram 2014
99 - Oman vs Eng North Sound 2024
103 - Net vs SL Sharjah 2021
106 - UAE vs Ind Dubai 2025

101 - Eng vs Oman North Sound 2024
93 - Ind vs UAE Dubai 2025
90 - SL vs Net Chattogram 2014
90 - Zim vs Mozambique Nairobi 2024

* Previous most by India: 81 balls vs Scotland in Dubai, 2021

FOUR! India have absolutely dismantled UAE — a thrashing of the highest order. Shubman Gill (20* off 9) stays deep in the crease to a good-length slower ball outside off from Simranjeet Singh, rolls his wrists and pulls wide of mid-on. It rockets off the bat, leaving the fielder a mere spectator. And that's the end of the small chase.

India 60/1 in 4.3 overs vs UAE 57 all out

1 1 Wd 1 6 W 6 - Suryakumar Yadav opens his account with a six off the first ball.

India 54/1, need 4 to win

Big Wicket! Junaid Siddique gets the prized wicket of Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16).

A small consolation for UAE. Back of a length on off, Abhishek leans forward looking for the heave but ends up miscuing it straight up. Haider Ali runs across from mid-on, steadies himself, and takes it safely. No real celebrations — UAE know the result is already sealed. Abhishek Sharma smoked three sixes and two fours during his short 16-ball stay.

India 48/1 in 3.5 overs | Target 58

0 Wd 2 0 0 6 4 - Abhishek Sharma (23*) smokes a six and a four off consecutive balls off Dhruv Parashar to score 13 runs in it. India are just 20 behind of their target after three overs.

India 38/0 in 3 overs vs UAE 57

0 Wd 4 2 1 1 6 - BOOM! Shubman Gill joins the party. Gill finished off the over, bowled by Muhammad Rohid, with a six after hitting a four earlier in the over. 15 runs came off it. India are cruising in their small run chase.

India 25/0 after 2 overs vs UAE 57

6 4 0 0 0 0 - Good comeback from UAE spinner Haider Ali after Abhishek Sharma smoked him for two boundaries off the first two balls. Ali bowled four dot balls to end the over well.

India are off to a flier as Abhiskek smoked the first ball over wide long-off for a six and followed it up with a four through extra-cover.

India 10/0 vs UAE 57

WOW! Abhishek Sharma smokes the fist ball over wide long off for a big six off Haider Ali. India off to a flier.

IND 6/0 in 0.1 over vs UAE 57

World No.1 batter Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill come out to start the India run chase.

Haider Ali with the ball for UAE

Target 58

India bowled out the United Arab Emirates for just 57 in their Asia Cup opener on Wednesday.

Kuldeep Yadav (4/7) and Shivam Dube (3/4) spearheaded the demolition, while Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakravarthy chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Opener Alishan Sharafu was the lone bright spot for UAE, top-scoring with 22 after being asked to bat first.

OUT!

Fourth wicket for Kuldeep Yadav! The appeal was initially for LBW, but impact was well outside off, ruling that out. On closer look, Haider Ali pressed forward to defend the googly, the ball brushed pad on its way and seemed to take a faint edge before carrying to Sanju Samson behind the stumps. With no reviews left for UAE, Haider has to walk.

UAE 57 all out

Shivam Dube strikes again, UAE nine down.

SKY runs back from mid-wicket and manages to pouch it reaching for it with both hands. Full delivery outside off stump, Siddique goes for the big hit, mistimes it completely and holes out. Dube has three wickets in 10 balls.

UAE 55/9 in 12.4 overs

Second wicket for Shivam Dube, dismisses Dhruv Parasher (1). UAE lost a review too.

LBW!! Trapped in front! A straightforward length ball from Dube, skidding through a touch low off the surface. Parashar shaped for the drive, but the lack of bounce beat him completely. No inside edge this time, impact right in line with middle and destined to crash into middle and leg. Easy decision for the umpire.

UAE 54/8 in 12.1 overs

Axar Patel got a big wicket with a clever delivery. Simranjeet Singh tried to sweep, missed the ball, and got out LBW. The ball spun a little more than expected, clipping the leg stump just enough to leave no doubt. The batter even tried a review, but the decision stayed with the umpire. Axar’s bowling today has been tight and smart, applying real pressure on the UAE batsmen, and this wicket was a key moment in tightening India’s grip on the game. UAE are 54/7 now.

Shivam Dube came on to bowl and made an instant impact.

Asif Khan tried to push one, but Samson took a sharp catch behind the stumps.

Just like that, UAE lost their sixth wicket

Interesting over from Varun Chakaravarthy. Just one single off it, but India lost a review going for a LBW review. And UAE successfully turned down LBW decision two balls later as there was a faint edge before hitting the pads.

UAE 51/5 after 10 overs

Wow! Third wicket for Kuldeep Yadav in the over, dismisses Harshit Kaushik (2)

Bowled!! Inside edge and the stumps are shattered. Another googly, this one tossed up a bit wider to drag the batter forward. Kaushik, reaching out to push through cover, only managed an inside edge that ricocheted onto the sticks. His feet weren’t in sync, neither was his judgment of the line. UAE slip further — five down already.

W 1 0 W 2 W - What and over! Three wickets for Kuldeep in it.

UAE 50/5 in 9 overs

Second wicket for Kuldeep Yadav in the over, dismisses Muhammad Waseem (19)

Lbw!! Big wicket — the captain departs. Waseem, a sweep-happy batter, went for his favourite shot against Kuldeep. At first glance, there was a question about the line — did it pitch in line with leg stump? His shuffle across only added to the doubt. But the replays left no room for it: pitching well inside leg, straightening, and crashing into leg stump. A crucial breakthrough.

UAE 48/4 in 8.4 overs

First wicket for Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chopra falls for 3.

Kuldeep floated it up invitingly and Chopra couldn’t resist, aiming for a big heave over long-on, but the timing deserted him. No power, no distance, and Shubman Gill at long-on moved smartly to his right to complete a safe catch. UAE lose their third.

UAE 47/3 in 8.1 overs

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel bowled two good tidy overs for India after the Powerplay. Just six runs off it - all in singles.

UAE 47/2 after 8 overs

The last time Jasprit Bumrah bowled three overs inside Powerplay while bowling first in T20s was also against UAE in Mirpur in Asia Cup 2016. Bumrah's figures so far: 3-0-19-1

4 0 0 0 4 4 - End of Powerplay! A very good one for UAE. Captain Muhammad Waseem smashes three fours in it off Jasprit Bumrah, including two successive boundaries. 12 runs came off it. Good recovery from Waseem after two quick wickets.

UAE 41/2 after 6 overs

Varun Chakaravarthy strikes in his first over, dismisses Muhammad Zohaib (2)

After getting two runs, Zohaib falls on the very next ball. Attacking these mystery spinners is never easy if you can’t read them from the hand.

A fullish delivery tempts Zohaib into a big slog, but he over-commits across the line. The ball holds its line and takes a thick outside edge. Kuldeep Yadav tracks it back over his right shoulder from backward point and takes a superb catch.

UAE 29/2 in 4.4 overs

BOWLED! Jasprit Bumrah cleans up Alishan Sharafu (22) with a yorker.

Bumrah asserts his authority with a perfect off-stump yorker. After Sharafu had charged him in the previous over and managed a four, Bumrah responded with pace and precision.

Sharafu tried to dig it out, but the perfect length and unique angle left him beaten, his off stump flattened. A brilliant display of fast bowling ends an entertaining stay.

Alishan Sharafu scored 22 off 17 balls with the help of a six and three fours.

UAE 26/1 in 3.4 overs

Captain Suryakumar Yadav brought in spinner early in the third over. Axar Patel conceded just three off the first four deliveries but was hit for a six off the fifth.

Alishan Sharafu (22*) is batting beautifully in the middle for UAE. He played a lovely inside-out lofted cover drive for the first maximum of the contest. The length was fuller so he stayed leg-side of the ball and smashed it flat over cover.

UAE 25/0 in 3 overs

It was going good for Jasprit Bumrah in his first over before Alishan Sharafu (14* off 11) hit a four off the final delivery.

Sharafu clipped it neatly behind square, and Sharafu rounded off the over on a high. Bumrah strayed onto the pads, and it’s duly punished.

UAE 16/0 after 2 overs

2 0 0 4 4 0 - Back-to-back fours and Alishan Sharafu scored 10 runs from the first over bowled by Hardik Pandya.

First it was a risky but effective shot for the first boundary. Sharafu charged down for a big swing at a short-of-length ball, only to find a thick outside edge. The ball flew over the leaping slip fielder and raced away to the fence.

In the very next ball, it was far more convincing. Width on offer outside off, and Sharafu stayed put to cut it crisply past backward point. Varun at third man couldn’t cut it off.

UAE 10/0 in 1 over

First boundary of the match. Alishan Sharafu goes for a big drive and the edge takes the ball over the slip cordon for a four towards third man.

UAE 6/0 in 0.4 overs

Here we go!

Captain Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu out in the middle to start the UAE innings.

Hardik Pandya with the ball for India.

"Today is a much calmer day in terms of the heat. There's a shorter boundary the players can target. 62 meters on one side, 75 meters on the other. Newly laid pitch with some cracks. 4 mm grass I'm told. There are some bare patches too, so it could be unpredictable. One side is bare and the other end has grass." - Russell Arnold and Sanjay Manjrekar

Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (w), Asif Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Haider Ali, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Junaid Siddique, Simranjeet Singh

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

"We were also looking to bowl. Pitch is fresh and maybe the ball will do something early. We had a good series, took many positive points and we're confident from that series. We're going with a good combination with spinners and fast bowlers, and juniors and seniors." - Muhammad Waseem

"We'll bowl first. Looks a nice fresh wicket. Humid also today, might be dew later. If we get an opportunity, we're flexible to do anything but today we want to bowl. We came here early, had 3-4 good practice sessions and also a day off." - Suryakumar Yadav

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav wins toss, opts to bowl against UAE in Dubai.

This was the first toss won by India in 16 Internationals across formats.

Toss coming up in 5 minutes!

It’s a muggy evening at the Dubai International Stadium — slightly cooler than yesterday, but the heat and humidity remain intense.

India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh.

United Arab Emirates: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra, Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.

Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube are marking their run-ups, with Arshdeep Singh joining in. Jitesh Sharma is working on catches with fielding coach T. Dilip, but there’s no sign of Sanju Samson in the middle - Cricbuzz reports

It’s said that overthinking is the art of creating problems that weren’t even there. In cricket nowadays, coaches have taken their obsession with match-ups to another level. Barring the top three, there are no fixed slots like in the good old days. Who comes in to bat or bowl now depends primarily on statistics of a batter against a particular bowler or the coach’s instincts.

With India, the issue isn’t just about mulling match-ups alone going into a game. Who bats at No. 8 is the latest opium being peddled by the experts. Apparently, India don’t have a decent bowler at that spot who can swing the bat effectively and be worth his salt. Thus, all kinds of permutations and combinations were being discussed on the eve of the game against the UAE.

India's supremacy in the shortest format was underlined once again as three of their batters and three bowlers found themselves inside the Top 10 of the latest ICC T20I rankings released on Wednesday.

For UAE, the clash against India is a golden stage to showcase talent.

Coach Lalchand Rajput believes his side is prepared, having run Pakistan close in a tri-nation series recently.

Players like Muhammad Waseem, Rahul Chopra, and Simranjeet Singh are eager to make a mark against world-class opposition.

“Against India, it is tough, but also a huge opportunity,” Rajput said. “I am a Khadoos Mumbaikar—my boys won’t let India have it easy.” The underdogs will look to fight hard and earn respect.

The biggest selection call India faces is whether to field an additional spinner or bolster the pace attack.

September conditions in Dubai usually offer more bounce and freshness compared to March, making fast bowlers more effective. Yet, the temptation to play an extra spinner remains.

Varun Chakravarthy’s consistency since his comeback makes him a strong contender, while Kuldeep Yadav’s skillset is undeniable despite his patchy luck.

With Abhishek Sharma also chipping in with left-arm spin, India has multiple spin-bowling options to consider.

Gautam Gambhir’s emphasis on batting depth makes Axar Patel indispensable at No. 8.

The left-arm spinner is known for his economical, wicket-to-wicket bowling, while his ability to clear boundaries adds sting in the lower order. His presence not only balances the side but also gives India a reliable spin option on surfaces where variety is crucial.

With Axar included, India can afford to play both Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, their premier pace duo, without sacrificing stability in the batting department.

India’s middle order is stacked with multi-skilled performers.

At No. 5, Hardik Pandya remains the X-factor, equally capable of producing match-winning spells with the ball or blazing cameos with the bat.

Shivam Dube, who thrives against spin, has also been encouraged to bowl more under coach Morne Morkel’s guidance.

At No. 7, Jitesh Sharma fits perfectly as a finisher, especially after his stellar IPL run.

This cluster of utility players ensures India’s batting depth extends deep while also providing ample bowling options.

Tilak Varma has cemented his place in the top order with a string of consistent performances, climbing to No. 2 in the ICC T20I batting rankings. His composure at No. 3 has given the side solidity and confidence.

Alongside him, skipper Suryakumar Yadav provides the versatility to bat either at No. 3 or 4, depending on the match situation.

This combination gives India both aggression and adaptability in the middle order, allowing the rest of the line-up to play their natural games.

The long-standing debate over India’s wicketkeeper choice appears settled, with Jitesh Sharma edging past Sanju Samson.

Jitesh’s finishing skills and ability to close out games have been rated more valuable than Samson’s flamboyance at the top order.

With the current batting set-up, Samson’s opportunities are limited, as he fits only in the top three.

The presence of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma at the top, coupled with Tilak Varma’s emergence at No. 3, has made it nearly impossible for Samson to slot in.