India Break Asian Record After Chasing Down Target In Just 27 Balls vs UAE In Asia Cup 2025

India romped home to a nine-wicket win against the UAE to open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign with a dominant victory. Kuldeep Yadav's artistry was too much for a clueless UAE to comprehend, as India hardly broke a sweat in this emphatic win. Kuldeep showed no signs of rustiness as India dismissed the home team for a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs, and then cantered home in just 4.3 overs. Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls) continued his blazing run in the company of best friend Shubman Gill (20 not out off nine), who also looked in ominous touch on his return to T20 cricket.

In an ironic twist, it was left-arm spinner Simranjeet Singh, who once bowled to Shubman in his pre-teens, that was hit for the winning runs by the Indian vice-captain.

India's batting effort was more like a highlights package and a glorified net session, with UAE bowlers having very little clue about where to pitch the ball. India took just 27 balls to win the match, making it one of the shortest-ever T20Is. India won the match with 93 balls to spare, an Asian record. Before this, Sri Lanka held the record for most balls to spare by an Asian Full Member team, having won with 90 balls to spare against the Netherlands in 2014.

Winning with the most balls to spare by a Full Member team:

101 Eng vs Oman, North Sound, 2024

93 Ind vs UAE, Dubai, 2025

90 SL vs Net, Chattogram, 2014

90 Zim vs Mozambique, Nairobi, 2024

Previous most by India: 81 balls vs Scotland, Dubai, 2021

It was clear the match would end well before time once captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and elected to field. The bowling plans laid out by Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar were perfectly executed by the unit, with the Dubai track aiding the skillful Indian spinners.

Kuldeep, who had a frustrating time in the UK after warming the bench for five straight Tests, was too good for the UAE batters, ending with figures of 4 for 7 in 2.1 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah (1/19 in 3 overs) started the slide with a perfect yorker to remove Kerala-born Alishan Sharafu (22 off 17 balls), who had until then survived audaciously with three boundaries and a six.

Once Bumrah landed a perfect yorker at the base of Sharafu's boots, UAE's promising start turned into a sorry tale, with batters making a beeline back to the dugout.

The troika of spinners — Kuldeep, Varun Chakravarthy (1/4 in 2 overs), and Axar Patel (1/13 in 3 overs) — are bowlers whom players from associate nations don't face regularly, and UAE had no clue how to counter them. Shivam Dube (3/4 in 2 overs), whose bowling is going to be important heading into the T20 World Cup, helped himself to career-best figures, polishing off the tail in style.

Dube hit the right length during his two-over spell, bowling at a speed of late 120 km/h, and keeping a fullish length while slipping in the odd back-of-length, heavy delivery.

Rahul Chopra tried to hit his way out of trouble against Kuldeep and was holed out at long-on, while left-handed Harshit Kaushik had no clue how to tackle a chinaman's googly — one that comes into the southpaw.

Skipper Muhammad Waseem (19 off 22 balls) found it difficult to get going, and when he tried to sweep Kuldeep, the ball bounced a tad extra.

In all, the Indian bowlers delivered 81 balls — 13.1 overs plus two wides — and UAE's batters couldn't score off 52 deliveries.

Topics mentioned in this article

Kuldeep Yadav Suryakumar Yadav India Cricket Team United Arab Emirates Asia Cup 2025 Cricket