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Indian Cricket Team began their Asia Cup 2025 journey with a nine-wicket victory against the hosts, United Arab Emirates. The game reportedly lasted for two hours, underscoring India's intent to send a statement ahead of their high-stakes clash with Pakistan on Sunday, September 14, 2025. India opted to bowl first after skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss, ending a 15-match jinx. The hosts, buoyed by home advantage and a modest opening stand of 26 between Alishan Sharafu (22) and skipper Muhammad Waseem (19), crumbled spectacularly, losing their last eight wickets for just 16 runs. It was the lowest total in Asia Cup T20 history and India's most one-sided T20I win by balls to spare.
At the heart of the victory and the post-match celebrations, shared by BCCI, was all-rounder Shivam Dube, whose career-best 3/4 spell earned him the BCCI Impact Player of the Match award, during the post-match ceremony in the dressing room. The award was presented to him by the bowling coach of the Indian team Morne Morkel. “ One guy got an opportunity tonight with the ball, to make an impact and I think you did that tonight,” he said while announcing Dube’s name. Visibly shy and reluctant to speak at first, he was pushed by teammates and Shubman Gill who jokingly said, “Ya Speech ya dance (Either give a speech or dance).” While thanking coach Morkel for his efforts with him during the training, Shivam Dube said, “ I really enjoyed bowling, I was keen to bowl in the match, I got the opportunity, I worked very hard.”
Shivam Dube was introduced an an Impact Player midway through the Indian team’s bowling
Shivam Dube, introduced as the Impact Player midway, claimed three wickets for four runs, his seam-up deliveries at the high 120s km/h mixing cutters and slower balls to devastating effect. Dube's first strike came in his opening over, trapping Asif Khan lbw for 2 with a full ball that nipped back in. Sanju Samson, standing in as wicketkeeper, pouched a sharp low catch to his right, sparking roars from the Indian huddle on the boundary. Over the next few deliveries, Dube dismissed Dhruv Parashar lbw for 1, a plumb one that survived a review and then Junaid Siddique for a golden duck. The final wicket was a comedy of errors, Siddique got distracted by Dube's towel slipping during his run-up, wandered out of his crease, only for Samson to whip off the bails after Suryakumar Yadav sportingly withdrew a stumping appeal.
Another remarkable spell that was pivotal in the victory was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. His 4/7 in 2.1 overs, including three quick wickets in the ninth over reportedly turned the game into a procession. Rahul Chopra holed out to long-on, Harshit Kaushik was bamboozled by a googly, and Waseem fell lbw to a sweep attempt all in the space of six deliveries. “Kuldeep was unplayable,” Suryakumar Yadav later said in the post-match huddle. He further added, “That over changed everything.” The UAE innings folded in 13.1 overs, with Jasprit Bumrah (1/5), Axar Patel (1/9), and Varun Chakaravarthy (1/4) chipping in to complete a nine-wicket bowling haul. Nine of UAE's batters failed to reach double figures, a testament to the pitch's variable bounce and the Indians' relentless pressure.
