United Arab Emirates (UAE) head coach Lalchand Rajput believes his batters were overawed by India’s big names. His remarks came after the UAE lost their opening match of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Although spinners dominated the game, taking six of the eleven wickets that fell, Rajput denied that it was a turning track and said his team should have batted out the full 20 overs.
“It was not really a turning track; it was a good wicket to bat on,” Rajput said after the match. “But the skill these bowlers possess – especially the wrist-spinners – means they can turn the ball on any surface. For our batters, it was the first time playing against such quality, and they were overawed by India’s big names. We should have batted the full 20 overs, but it’s a learning process for us.”
UAE’s batting line-up succumbed to a well-rounded Indian bowling attack. They lost two wickets during the Powerplay – the first to Jasprit Bumrah and the second to Varun Chakaravarthy. What followed was a dramatic collapse, triggered by Kuldeep Yadav’s three-wicket over, as UAE slumped from 29/2 to 57 all out. Kuldeep claimed four wickets, Shivam Dube finished with three, while Bumrah, Chakaravarthy, and Axar Patel took one each.
“World champions will always crush teams. It was fine until the Powerplay, but once the spinners came on, everything changed. There wasn’t much turn, but with Kuldeep and Varun, even top players find it difficult,” Rajput added.
UAE will look to bounce back from this defeat when they take on Oman in their second group fixture on 15 September.
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