Dominant India take on UAE

India are not be denied at this moment. The pieces have fallen in place for them just before the World T20 as they have become the first team to reach the Asia Cup T20 final.

In their last round-robin ma­tch, they meet the new comers in UAE and it is expected that those uninitiated in the squad would get to don India colours on Thursday.

India are on a roll winning eight out of their last nine matches in the T20 format and lived up to their favourite tag in the series thus far. They have looked solid in all departments, their players have hit the form at the right time and is the only team to be undefeated in the tournament.

Needless to say they are the hunted ones among the five participating teams. Against UAE, who are already out of contention, India would like to rest its first XI, which has nearly been the same in last nine matches.

The experimentation would come as a respite to the injury-ridden side that has seen its top players playing despite niggles. Dhoni (back spasms), Rohit Sharma (toe), Shikhar Dhawan (left-ankle) have all picked injuries during the tour.

Dhawan had to be replaced by Ajinkya Rahane during the match against Pakistan. Besides Rahane, those who have not been able to find a place in the regular XI include Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Dhoni, following their win over Sri Lanka, conceded that the bench strength would be given a chance against UAE.

“We'll definitely make a few changes in the coming games. How many (is) something we will see. Because we still want the strength and the composition of the side to be very good. I think most of the players will definitely get a chance in the next game. Whether all the people who are sitting outside will get a chance, we're not sure. But we will try to make as many changes as possible,” he said.

The UAE, on the other hand, had surprised all and sundry after they beat Afghanistan en route qualifying for the main event. Coached by former Pakistan bowler Aaqib Javed, the side has shown the aptitude for fast bowling but its batting is yet to match the required standards.

Shaiman Anwar, tho­ugh, stood as an exception with his breezy 46 against Pakistan. However, it is a team largely comprising of semi-professionals who are not full-time cricketers.

Nonetheless, they have given a glimpse of their prowess in all three matches against the Test playing nations -- Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In their last game against Pakistan, they gave the former champions a fright after scoring decently with the bat and then scything through their top three batsmen by the fourth over.