Kuldeep Yadav made a grand comeback to the Indian side in international cricket as his wickets after the powerplay completely derailed UAE. Kuldeep Yadav who hasn’t played T20Is since the 2024 T20 World Cup Final and hadn’t played for a while looked a man possessed as it has broken the back of UAE batting.
Put into bat first, UAE made a promising start in the powerplay despite losing 2 wickets in the powerplay. But they lost their way and plot after powerplay to Kuldeep Yadav. The others chipped in as well as UAE innings was on a freefall and never recovered after that. India seems to be on top of this game now and look good to get the points.
Jasprit Bumrah & Varun Chakaravarthy wickets restricts UAE to 41/2 in the powerplay
Put into bat first, Alishan Sharafu and captain Muhammad Waseem came out to bat for UAE while Hardik Pandya had ball in hand for India. Sharafu got off the mark with a brace and then hit Hardik for back-to-back boundaries to show great intent. Jasprit Bumrah got the ball from the other end. Sharafu hit him for a boundary through long leg. Axar Patel came into the attack next and was dispatched by Sharafu for the maximum over deep extra cover.
Bumrah provided the first breakthrough for his side as he got rid of Sharafu for 22 off 17 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to his name. Bumrah bowled a yorker on the off-stump, Sharafu got his front leg away and looked to get his bat down in time but got beaten for pace as the ball crashed onto the base of the off-stump. Mohammad Zuhaib Khan came to the crease next.
Varun Chakaravarthy came to the crease next and got rid of Zuhaib for 2 off 5 balls. He tossed it up around fourth stump line, googly from Varun as it gripped and straightened. Zuhaib swung his bat across the line. He got a leading edge which lobbed up in the air. Kuldeep at backward point tracked back and took a safe catch. Rahul Chopra came out to bat next.
Waseem hit Bumrah for a boundary past diving mid-off. Waseem was not done yet as he hit Bumrah for consecutive boundaries through backward point region and backward square leg region for a boundary. At the end of powerplay, UAE are 41/2.
Kuldeep Yadav & Shivam Dube combine to skittle UAE out for 57 in 13.1 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav came into the attack post the powerplay and bowled a tidy over. Axar Patel returned and bowled another tidy over. Kuldeep Yadav got his first wicket to his name as he got rid of Rahul Chopra for 3 off 7 balls. Kuldeep bowled from over the wicket a flighted delivery full around off-stump, Rahul pressed forward and got under it and he looked to smash it over the wide long-on fence. He mistimed it from the toe end of the blade where Gill at long-on moved to his right and took the catch. Asif Khan came to the crease next and got off the mark with a single.
Kuldeep Yadav soon got rid of Waseem for 19 off 22 balls with 3 fours to his name. He bowled a flipper on a length around leg, Waseem shuffled across his stumps a bit and got down on one knee. He looked to play the sweep shot behind square on the onside and got beaten on the inside edge and is wrapped on the front pad. It was given OUT. Waseem reviewed in hope and saw three reds as the review was lost. Harshit Kaushik came out to back and got off the mark with a brace.
Kuldeep Yadav struck again as he got rid of Kaushik for 2 off 2 balls. Kuldeep tossed it up full around fourth stump line a googly again. Kaushik prod forward and looked to defend as he again played for the leg break delivery and left a big gap between bat and pad. The ball snuck through the gap to crash the stumps. Dhruv Parashar came out to bat next. Varun Chakaravarthy came back into the attack next and wasted a review against Asif Khan for LBW as the decision was upheld. Then Parashar was given OUT LBW and he reviewed it successfully to overturn the decision.
At the end of 10 overs at the Drinks Break, UAE were struggling at 51/5. Shivam Dube was introduced into the attack and got rid of Asif Khan for 2 off 7 balls. He bowled a back of a length delivery on the fifth stump line dragging the length back and extracted some extra bounce. Asif did not move his feet and poked at the ball and the outside edge is achieved as Samson dived to his right to take a two-handed catch. Simranjeet Singh Kang came to the crease next.
Axar Patel returned and got rid of Kang for 1 off 5 balls. Axar bowled full length delivery on the fourth stump line coming back with the arm. Simranjeet looked to sweep and was wrapped in front of the stumps with the ball hitting the front pad. The umpire gave it. The batter reviewed and it came back as Umpire’s call. The review was retained but the batter had to go. Haider Ali came out to bat next and got off the mark.
Dube got another as he got rid of Dhruv Parashar for 1 off 7 balls. He bowled a length delivery on the off-stump line, Parashar was too forward trying to flick it through the leg side and the head fell on the off-side. He missed the ball on the inside edge as it struck him on the front pad around shin height. The review was taken in hope as three reds came up on the screen. The review was lost. Junaid Siddique came out to bat next.
Then a moment happened as Junaid was out of his crease when Sanju threw down the stumps but the Indian captain withdrew the appeal immediately. But Dube got him few balls later for a bronze duck. A slow off-cutter from Dube pitching outside the off-stump, Junaid failed to get underneath swinging hard away from his body after clearing the front leg. He got a top edge and the ball flew high up in the air just inside the circle. Suryakumar Yadav at mid-on got underneath it and took the catch. He was blinded but took the catch. Muhammad Rohid Khan came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace.
It was fitting that Kuldeep Yadav got the final wicket of the innings as he dismissed Haider Ali for 1 off 2 balls. He bowled a good length leg break pitching outside off-stump and turning slightly away from the southpaw. Haider on the front foot got on the front foot with the ball beating the inside edge. The ball kissed the thigh pad and into Samson’s gloves. The appeal is given and no reviews left for UAE. Rohid remained unbeaten on 2 off 2 balls as UAE were shot out for 57 in 13.1 overs. Just 2 extras given by Indian bowlers.
Kuldeep Yadav was the star for India with figures of 4/7 in 2.1 overs. Shivam Dube chipped in and supported him with 3/4 in 2 overs. Jasprit Bumrah got a wicket for 19 runs in 3 overs. Axar Patel finished with 1/13 in 3 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy chipped in with 1/4 in 2 overs. Hardik Pandya bowled an over for 10 runs. India now needed a mere 58 runs to win the match.
What Lies Ahead
So, India will need 58 runs to win the contest. They should do it easily. It’s a question of how much UAE can fight and make India sweat a bit. But India will win and win well and secure the full points as the hosts have been outplayed by outstanding bowling from Indian bowlers.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2025: Ravichandran Ashwin Heaps Praise On Abhishek Sharma