India obliterated the UAE in their 2025 Asia Cup opening match today (September 10), cruising to a nine-wicket victory in a chase which was over in less than five overs.
Kuldeep Yadav wove his magic for India after they opted to field first. He cleaned up with figures of 4-7 in a 13-ball spell, dismissing opposition captain Muhammad Waseem, as well as taking the final wicket of the innings which sealed UAE's total of 57 all-out. Shivam Dube also starred with the ball, taking three wickets and conceding only four runs in his two overs. Only the two openers, Alishan Sharafu and Waseem, scored more than 3 before being dismissed.
In response, Abhishek Sharma hit the first ball of the chase for six, whacking a floated up ball from Haider Ali over short mid-wicket. While Abhishek eventually fell for a shot-a-minute 30, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill finished off the job. Gill hit the winning runs with a four off the third ball of the fourth over, completing the second-quickest chase in a men's T20I by a full member nation. The only full-member team to chase a target quicker in the format was England, who chased 48 in 19 balls against Oman in the 2025 T20 World Cup.
Match 2, India vs United Arab Emirates
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IND v UAE: Updated Asia Cup 2025 points table after today's match
By chasing down the target so quickly, India have given their net run rate a huge boost. It sits at more than 10 after the match, with Pakistan and Oman still yet to begin their campaigns. While it was a game they were always likely to win, chasing down the total in such a brutal manner means they may well now avoid any net run rate headaches at the sharp-end of the group stage.
All teams in the group will have played when Pakistan kick-off their tournament against Oman on Friday (September 12), before the marquee India v Pakistan clash on Sunday, September 14.
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