India feast on Arabian starters

Dubai: Kuldeep Yadav went through the entire five-Test tour of England without getting a look-in. More than one surface, dry and inviting, called out for his services to be utilised, but the think-tank continued to bench him.

On Wednesday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the left-arm wrist-spinner took out his frustrations while showing the leadership group what they had missed in England, tying up UAE in knots in India’s opening Group A fixture of the T20 Asia Cup. Bamboozling the crease-tied UAE batters who had no clue which way the ball was turning, he took four for seven in just 13 deliveries, the standout display in India’s commanding nine-wicket triumph in a contest that lasted less than 20 overs.

Riding on Kuldeep’s heroics, India bowled UAE out for a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs, a total they overhauled with unseemly haste in a furious exhibition of unfettered ball-bashing.

Suryakumar Yadav’s decision to field first, he said at the toss, was influenced by the possibility of dew. Long before the dew set in, the game was over, Shubman Gill celebrating his return to the format with a flat-batted pull through mid-on that cemented India’s nine-wicket victory with 15.3 overs to spare. Gill had, by then, watched from the best seat in the town as Abhishek Sharma tore into the hapless UAE bowlers, tonking two fours and three towering sixes during a whirlwind 16-ball 30 that dominated an opening salvo of 48.

Abhishek and Gill were merely the side acts; it was the bowlers, with Kuldeep at the forefront and Shivam Dube, surprisingly, only marginally behind, who compelled attention with their control and command over their craft. Admittedly, this performance was only against a team ranked 15th in the world, but given that it was India’s first T20I in more than seven months, it was impressive in more ways than one.

As is his wont, Jasprit Bumrah produced a customary peach to snap a promising innings from Alishan Sharafu, the young opener who struck two fours from Hardik Pandya’s first over of the match and drove Axar Patel handsomely over cover for a pleasing six. Sharafu, however, had no answer when Bumrah unleashed a wonderful yorker that snuck under his bat and plucked out off-pole.

Sharafu’s 22 was the highest score of the innings and one of only two efforts that touched double figures. Muhammad Waseem, the shell-shocked captain who hit Bumrah for three fours in the last over of the Power Play, weighed in with 19, but the rest was a sorry tale. With Bumrah playing as the lone specialist quick, India were able to field both Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy, whose two overs added to the home team’s misery.

Kuldeep’s second over ensured that this match would finish in a jiffy. Three wickets in six deliveries knocked the stuffing out of UAE; Kuldeep must have been particularly delighted with the last of those sticks with a masterly wrong ‘un that snaked past the left-handed Harshit Kaushik’s inside edge and hit his off-stump.

Dube, only introduced in the 11th over, caught the eye with enhanced pace and excellent control on his way to career-best figures of three for four. As much as Kuldeep’s iridescent bowling, the think-tank would have been delighted with Dube’s showing because it gives them added leeway and an extra seam option, should they decide to stick with three specialist spinners for the matches ahead.