Dhoni has already made it clear that India would be maintaining the strength of the side and also dropped a hint that few of the cricketers who are sitting out would be given a chance to express themselves. India having won all three matches they have played have qualified for the finals to be played on 6 March. But the right-handed batsman perished thanks to a flashy drive of the penultimate delivery of the sixth over, bowled by Qadeer Ahmed.
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UAE had no answer to India’s disciplined bowling effort with the second string attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/8 in 4 overs), Jasprit Bumrah (1/23 in 4 overs), Hardik Pandya (1/11 in 3 overs), Harbhajan Singh (1/11 in 4 overs) and Pawan Negi (1/16) putting relentless pressure on the inexperienced opposition.
Bumrah claimed Mohammad Shahzad for a duck, too, and UAE was 2-2.
UAE lost Muhammad Kaleem (2) and Fahad Tariq (3) in successive overs and went on to lose two more wickets in the final over while managing to post a total of 81 for nine off 20 overs. But the Indian bowlers made no fuss, taking wickets at will.
It is India’s biggest Twenty20 global win in terms of balls remaining.
He would be unstoppable in the World Cup T20 if he plays like this. But in an innings that had four maiden overs in the first ten and 77 dot balls overall (45 before the halfway stage), his effort shone bright.
“We were playing the favourites of the tournament and it was hard for us”, he said. Out of Dhawan-Rohit’s 43-run partnership, the latter contributed 39.
Yuvraj is showing a sheer class of batting.
Rohit Sharma provided India with a good start, as the Mumbaikar pummeled the UAE bowlers before throwing away his wicket.
Shaiman Anwar top-scored with a 48-ball 43 for the UAE while Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned figures of 2/8 for India. And it certainly marked his 50th T20I match.
After a quiet 10th over, in which Rohan Mustafa conceded only six runs, the southpaw pulled the first delivery of the 11th over for a four to complete the nine-wicket win.
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That proved a minor blip in the chase, however, Yuvraj Singh (25 not out) and Shikhar Dhawan (16no) knocking off the runs as UAE finished bottom of the table without a point to their name.
