That's it from the opening game for India and UAE in the Asia Cup T20 2025! A thumping win for the Indian side to begin their campaign, the hosts at the other hand need to comeback stronger and need to have a look at their plans for the tournament ahead. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Pritam Dey, scorers Manish Bishnoi & Paras Yadav and statistician Aman. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world.
Lowest Match Aggregates in T20Is in UAE:
89 runs – Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2021
111 runs – England vs West Indies, Dubai (DICS), 2021
117 runs – UAE vs India, Dubai (DICS), 2025, Tonight*
Suryakumar Yadav (India Captain): "I wanted to see how the wicket was playing. I think it was the same in the second innings as well.
That we'll talk about it later (on whether the Indian players get their full match fees or not). Clinical performance from the boys. We wanted good attitude and positive energy on the field. The same thing carried when we were on the field for our batting.
I think recently, lot of boys were here for the Champions Trophy. The wickets looked good but was on the slower side. The spinners played a key role in that tournament. It's very hot right now. Spinners might have a little bit of more dominance. I think it was a good support shown by Hardik, Bumrah & Shivam Dube as well.
(On Abhishek Sharma) He is a phenomenal batter and that's the reason why he is the World Number 1 batter in this format. The way he sets the tone in the powerplay. He keeps the team first whether it's chasing a big total or a small one.
(Special message for the Arch-rivals) I mean, we all are excited for the game on Sunday as we wanted to face a good opponent."
Muhammad Waseem (UAE Captain): "I think we started well with the bat but lost wickets in a cluster that cost us the game.
We can say they are a great team and are bowling very well. They executed their plans for every batter and that's why they are the number 1 team.
As a team we have to come back stronger and learn from these mistakes."
Kuldeep Yadav (Player of the Match): "Well, thanks to our trainer. Obviously, I was working on my fitness a lot with the trainer and also working on my bowling. Everything looks perfect at the moment.
It's very important to hit the right length. I try to read the batters mind a lot."
Player of the Match: Kuldeep Yadav
10:09 PM IST & 8:39 PM Local Time: Time for the Post-Match Presentation!
Fewest balls in a completed T20I match involving a Full-Member Nation:
93 - Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, Chattogram, 2014
99 - Oman vs England, North Sound, 2024
103 - Netherlands vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah, 2021
106 - UAE vs India, Dubai, 2025 (Tonight)*
Indian batters hitting first ball of a T20I innings for a six: Rohit Sharma off Adil Rashid at Ahmedabad 2021 Yashasvi Jaiswal off Sikandar Raza at Harare 2024 Sanju Samson off Jofra Archer at Mumbai 2025 Abhishek Sharma off Haider Ali at Dubai TONIGHT*