India and the UAE will lock horns in the second match of the ongoing Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. This is the first match of the tournament for both teams, even as they are locking horns in the format for the first time since 2016. India are the defending champions, having won the previous edition in 2023, when it was played in the ODI format.
This is the first major tournament for the India skipper Suryakumar Yadav since he took over the reins of the T20I team. Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill have also returned to the setup after a long gap, with the T20 World Cup set to be played in February-March next year. Undoubtedly, India are the favourites to lift the trophy on September 28, but they cannot take things for granted as the men in blue failed to make it to the final in 2022 when the Asia Cup was last played in the T20 format.
As for the UAE, they have played some decent cricket in the lead-up to the tournament. They defeated Bangladesh in the three-match series, and even though they failed to win a single game in the tri-series against Pakistan and Afghanistan, the team played some really good cricket. In their final league game against Afghanistan, the UAE came five runs within shot at victory only to fall short in the end. They would be looking to play their best cricket against the world champions and look to upset them.
Dubai Pitch Report
Dubai has been a home to a lot of T20I matches over the years, and the venue has played hosts to 110 matches so far. According to reports, there is some grass on the surface and that has left many surprised. In any case, teams prefer bowling first at the venue with the average first innings score being only 139. However, with the pitch expected to be fresh, a score around 170-180 could be par. With huge boundaries, it won't be easy for batters to hit sixes either.
Dubai - T20I Numbers Game
Matches Played - 110
Matches won batting first - 51
Matches won bowling first - 58
Average first inns score - 139
Highest total - 212 by IND vs AFG
Highest total chased - 184 by SL vs BAN
Squads
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma(w), Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh
United Arab Emirates Squad: Muhammad Waseem(c), Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra(w), Asif Khan, Muhammad Zohaib, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Saghir Khan, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Aryansh Sharma, Dhruv Parashar, Matiullah Khan, Ethan DSouza, Simranjeet Singh
