India vs United Arab Emirates, Asia Cup 2025: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) were no match for the mighty Team India as they suffered a humiliating nine-wicket defeat in their Asia Cup 2025 Group A clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday, September 10. Batting first, the UAE recorded the second-lowest total in Asia Cup history after India downsized them to a paltry 57. In reply, India completed the chase in just 4.3 overs.

Captain Muhammad Wasim, after the UAE's 9-wicket loss to India
Meanwhile, UAE captain Muhammad Waseem vowed to learn from the mistakes and come back stronger in their next game. He also admitted that India was the better team as they executed their plans for every UAE batter, and that's what makes them a No. 1 side.

Talking about the match, Kuldeep Yadav showed no signs of rust as he played a key role in dismantling the UAE batting lineup, helping India dismiss the hosts for a mere 57 runs in their Asia Cup opener. Despite a frustrating period of warming the bench for five consecutive Tests in the UK, Kuldeep was in top form, proving too skilful for the UAE batsmen. He finished with impressive figures of 4/7 in just 2.1 overs. India's chase was quick and decisive. Abhishek Sharma hit a rapid 30 runs off just 16 balls, while Shubman Gill remained unbeaten with a quick-fire 20 runs off nine balls. Captain Suryakumar Yadav finished the game with a quick seven not out from two balls, securing a comfortable nine-wicket victory for India in just 4.3 overs.

The collapse of the UAE innings was triggered by Jasprit Bumrah, who initiated the downfall with a perfect yorker. The ball dismissed the dangerous Alishan Sharafu, who was the top scorer for the UAE with 22 runs off 17 balls. Sharafu had been showing some resilience, hitting three boundaries and a six, but once he was out, the UAE's promising start quickly turned into a disastrous one, with the remaining batsmen making a rapid return to the dugout.

The spin troika of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Axar Patel proved to be too much for the UAE batsmen, who are unaccustomed to facing such high-quality bowling. Kuldeep finished with figures of 4 for 7, Chakravarthy took 1 for 4, and Patel secured 1 for 13. Shivam Dube, whose bowling will be vital for India's T20 World Cup prospects, also delivered a career-best performance, taking 3 wickets for just 4 runs as he cleaned up the tail end of the UAE batting lineup.

Several UAE batsmen struggled against the Indian bowlers. Rahul Chopra tried to hit his way out of a tight spot against Kuldeep but was caught at long-on, while the left-handed Harshit Kaushik found it difficult to handle the googly. UAE captain Muhammad Waseem also had a hard time scoring and was eventually dismissed while attempting to sweep Kuldeep, as the ball bounced more than he anticipated.

The Indian bowlers' dominance was evident in the numbers: out of the 81 balls bowled (13.1 overs plus two wides), the UAE batsmen failed to score off 52 of them.