Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rohit Sharma Shine as India Crush UAE

File photo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (Photo: Reuters)

• India beat UAE by nine wickets in the Asia Cup at Mirpur on Thursday.
  
• Rohit Sharma top scored for India with 39.
  
• India restricted UAE to 81/9 in 20 overs.
  

India continued their winning streak by producing yet another resounding performance to thrash minnows United Arab Emirates by nine wickets in a lop-sided inconsequential round robin league match of the Asia Cup.

The Indian juggernaut rolled on as they have now won nine out of the 10 T20 Internationals played this year, a very good track record going into the T20 World Cup.

Chasing a small target of 82, the Indians romped home in only 10.1 overs with Rohit Sharma hitting a flurry of boundaries in his 28-ball-39. In all he hit seven fours and a six adding 43 for the opening stand with Shikhar Dhawan (16 not out), which incidentally is the highest for India for the first wicket in this tournament.

Rohit Sharma. (Photo: Reuters)

Yuvraj Singh (25*off 14 balls), who was promoted up the order at Number 3 ahead of Virat Kohli, got a decent knock in the middle. He hit a few free-flowing boundaies including an effortless six off Mohammed Shahzad. Yuvraj finished the match with a boundary off Shahzad.

Dhawan however did not look fully confident as he was tested by a few rising deliveries that deviated off the surface.

Earlier, India’s reserve bench put up an impressive show to restrict UAE to a meagre 81 for nine after being asked to field.

Virat Kohli (L) and Hardik Pandya (R). (Photo: AP)

UAE’s total is the second lowest by an international team without being bowled out.

This is the second time in the tournament that India has restricted the opposition to less-than 100.

The total number of dots conceded by UAE in the match was an unprecedented 77 deliveries.