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United Arab Emirates (UAE) had a horrendous start in their Asia Cup 2025 campaign opener against India at the Dubai International stadium on Wednesday, September 10. India condemned UAE to the second lowest total in the Asia Cup history after Kuldeep Yadav's four-fer and Shivam Dube's three-fer bulldozed the home side to a paltry 57 in 13.1 overs. The UAE team narrowly avoided setting a new record for the lowest total in Asia Cup history. That unfortunate record is still held by Hong Kong, who were bowled out for just 38 runs by Pakistan during the 2022 tournament in Sharjah.
Notable, this marked the lowest-ever T20I total against India, surpassing New Zealand's previous record of 66 all-out in Ahmedabad in 2023.
Given India's star-studded bowling attack, it was anticipated that they would restrict the UAE to a low score. However, the hosts' performance was a major disappointment as they failed to put up any significant resistance. The team will likely regret a collapse that began after a solid start. After being 26 for no loss in the fourth over, the UAE's innings unraveled completely. Once ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Alishan Sharafu, the rest of the team fell like a pack of cards leading to their collapse for just 57 runs.
Only two UAE batters managed to reach double-digit scores: Alishan Sharafu was the top scorer with 22 runs, and captain Muhammad Waseem added 19. The rest of the team failed to make a significant contribution.
India's bowlers were in dominant form. The leading wicket-takers were Kuldeep Yadav, who took four wickets for just seven runs, and Shivam Dube, who claimed three wickets for four runs. Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, and Varun Chakravarthy each secured one wicket.
Before this match, the lowest T20I score against India was New Zealand's 66 all out in February 2023. In that game, which took place in Ahmedabad, current vice-captain Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 126, while Hardik Pandya’s four-wicket haul helped dismiss the Kiwis for just 66 runs.
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