World Champions India Take on Dark Horses UAE Today
Dubai: At 8:00 PM tonight, Team India will play its first match of the T20 Asia Cup, facing hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Dubai International Stadium.
Yesterday, Afghanistan (188/6) beat Hong Kong (94/9) in the first match by 94 runs. Now today Indian players return to competitive cricket after a gap of 1 month and 10 days, and six months later, Dubai fans will once again cheer for Team India at the same ground. Under vice-captain Shubman Gill, India last toured England, drawing the Test series 2-2, before heading home. Earlier in March, India lifted the ODI Champions Trophy in Dubai by beating New Zealand in the final.
This time, Suryakumar Yadav leads India in the Asia Cup, starting with tonight’s clash against UAE.
India No. 1, UAE Ranked 15th
In the ICC T20 rankings, India holds the No. 1 spot, while UAE is 15th. UAE’s team just finished a triangular series in Sharjah against Pakistan and Afghanistan without a single win, but in May, they created history by defeating Bangladesh 2-1 in a T20 series, so India cannot take them lightly.
Historically, India and UAE have met only once in T20Is — at the 2016 Asia Cup, which India won.
Gambhir vs Rajput in the Coaching Box
Former Indian star Gautam Gambhir is India’s head coach, while ex-India cricketer Lalchand Rajput coaches the UAE side.
Pitch & Conditions
In March’s Champions Trophy, India played four spinners on this Dubai pitch. However, the fresh strip today is expected to offer assistance to both spinners and pacers. The scorching Dubai heat will also test Indian batters.
Probable Playing XI:
India:
Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana/Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
UAE:
Muhammad Waseem (capt), Rahul Chopra (wk), Alishan Sharafu, Asif Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Zohaib, Muhammad Jawadullah/Saghir Khan, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid.