Asia Cup T20: India v UAE – 5 Talking Points

India registered a crushing 9 wicket win over the in competitive UAE side today in their last league match. UAE batted first and could not withstand the high-quality Indian bowling attack and were bundled out for just 82/9 after 20 overs. India, in reply, started off very slowly with both opener Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan not trying to impose any authority. But, Rohit soon began to thrash the UAE bowlers before losing his wicket just before the end of the powerplay. Yuvraj Singh then came in and landed the knockout blow with a blazing cameo knock to ensure a comfortable win. India is now only one step away from winning the Asia Cup. They now meet host Bangladesh in the final on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium.

1. Old charm of Bhuvneshwar Kumar:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar got his first chance to play after a spending a considerable amount of time warming the bench as a reserve. Bhuvi came in place of Ashish Nehra and looked to be bowling with his old charm, swinging the ball in and out from the batman beautifully. His day at the field began with two consecutive maiden overs. He bowled the first over of the match and finished it as a maiden. He came back in is subsequent over and returned with a wicket maiden. Sandeep Patil was his first wicket. The right-hander lobbed the ball off the leading edge and Bhuvi clasped a chest high return catch. Bhuvneshwar Kumar eventually finished with wonderful figures of 2/8 in four overs.

2. UAE completely rattled:

Indian bowlers completely exploited UAE’s weak link; their batting. The start was very sluggish as Jasprit Bumrah (1/23) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/8) choked them for runs right from the first over. Hardik Pandya (1/11), debutant Pawan Negi (1/16), Harbhajan Singh (1/11) and Yuvraj Singh (1/10) all struck at regular intervals and did not allow the opposition to score freely at any stage. None of the UAE batsman except Rohan Mustafa and Shaiman Anwar could reach double figures. The associate nation, in the end, were only able to muster 81/9 after the end of 20 overs.

3. Shaiman Anwar the shining factor:

Amidst all the free fall of the UAE wickets, Shaiman Anwar stood tall and stroked his way to an appreciable 48 ball 43 runs innings. Anwar came at No.4 in the 9th over of the game and batted till the last over of the match. It appeared as if he was the only one who could read the Indian bowlers who were completely dominating today. His counter-attacking knock was studded with 3 fours and a six straight staright down the ground.

4. Clumsy Shikhar Dhawan:

India had to chase only a handful of 83 runs. It was anticipated that openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan might take advantage of the weak bowling. However, strangely, that was not the case as Dhawan started off clumsily and did not try any attacking shot. It was a shaky start for him. He initially survived a caught behind chance which looked plumb. Rohit switched to his natural style after a quite couple of overs but Dhawan continued to look sloppy. At one point, he had only 2 from 13 balls. The left-hander soon found the confidence and batted nicely with Yuvraj Singh who had began to tonk the bowlers immediately after he came to the crease. Dhawan eventually ended with 16 runs off 20 balls.

5. Yuvraj Singh finished off the match:

India were 8/0 after three overs but Rohit Sharma soon unleashed himself and began deal in fours and sixes. However, he fell in the 6 overs at the score of 39 runs off just 28 balls. Yuvraj Singh was promoted to No.3 and he too began to hammer quickly. Dhawan, in contrast, batted very slowly, but the lack of run from his bat was made up by Yuvraj Singh who finished off the match in a hurry. The paltry 83 runs target was mowed down in just 10.1 overs with nine wickets in hand with Yuvraj Singh returning with a quickfire 21 from 13 balls.