India’s left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav soared past former frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s T20I wickets tally after his scorching four-wicket haul against the UAE on Wednesday in the ongoing Asia Cup.
Records toppled one after another when India ensured that their hegemony in T20Is remained untouched and sealed its biggest T20I win. The UAE could barely touch India throughout the contest that reached its conclusion in less than two hours at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Kuldeep dismantled the UAE’s misfiring batting unit and returned with figures of 4/7 in his 2.1 over spell. He moved past Axar Patel and Ashwin’s tally of 72 wickets each and now boasts 73 scalps in 41 matches at 13.39. In the ninth over, he truly put his masterclass on exhibition and carved his name in history.
Rahul Chopra (3) holed it to the vice-captain, Shubman Gill, on the first, skipper Waseem was pinned in front of the stumps on 19(22) on the fourth, and Harshit Kaushik was castled on the final for a run-a-ball two. With three wickets in a single over, Kuldeep ended the UAE’s misery by delivering the final blow and wrapping their innings on 57 in 13.1 overs. UAE’s effort was the second lowest in the tournament’s history after Hong Kong’s 38 against Pakistan in 2022.
India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was still adjusting to the demands of T20I cricket, showed his class in patches. With a toe-crushing yorker, he sent in-form Alishan Sharafu’s off-stump carthwheeled in the air. With a solitary scalp, Bumrah levelled Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s tally of 90 T20I wickets, accomplishing the feat in 16 fewer appearances.
In response to the UAE’s paltry effort, Abhishek Sharma went berserk, dispatching the first two balls for a six and a four. He raced to 30 from 15 deliveries, but holed it to Haider Ali off Junaid Siddique. Captain Suryakumar Yadav applied the finishing touches to wrap up the contest with a 9-wicket win in just 4.3 overs.
With more than half of the innings left to play, India registered its most significant victory in the T20Is (in terms of balls remaining). India gunned down the target with 93 balls to spare, improving its record of 81 against Scotland at the same venue in 2021. (ANI)
