Sports
India breeze through UAE by 9 wickets, the entire match lasting only 50.2 overs
Updated : Sep 29, 2017, 07:56 PM IST
You would have had to hold a connoisseur at gunpoint to get him to watch India take on the United Arab Emirates at the WACA Ground here on Saturday. And even if you succeeded, he would have found a way to turn the tables on you and pull that trigger.
In a mismatch of epic proportions, only three things didn’t go India’s way. First, MS Dhoni lost the toss, thereby allowing his counterpart, Mohammad Tauqir, to become the recipient of the loudest boos in Perth. Then, after the Indian bowlers put up yet another emphatic display to reduce their opponents to 71/9, Shaiman Anwar and Manjula Guruge took their team past the 100-run mark, evoking loud cheers from the semi-packed stadium. Thirdly, the Indian batsmen ‘failed’ to get the job done before the dinner break.
Everything else went according to script.
Saturday’s Group ‘B’ contest was branded a David vs Goliath contest. This was the UAE’s chance to make a statement. They did, albeit a tepid one. India were just too good. Not accustomed to facing quality pace and world-class spin, the UAE players gave a poor account of themselves. They lasted all of 31.3 overs (129 minutes) before being shot out for 102, their lowest total in ODIs and the lowest posted by any team against India in the World Cup.
R Ashwin was the star of the day for India, the off-spinner bamboozling the minnows to produce career-best figures of 4/25 off 10 overs bowled on the trot. In reply, India chose to canter instead of gallop, and got the job done in 18.5 overs. The match itself lasted a little more than 50 overs, giving Dhoni & Co. a nine-wicket win and enough time to play football under lights.
Rohan Mustafa took a one-handed blinder to send back Shikhar Dhawan before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played themselves in to complete the formalities. Sharma, in particular, was a delight to watch as he cracked 10 fours and a huge, awkward-looking six over backward square-leg en route to an unbeaten 57 off 55 balls. Kohli made 33 not out off 41 balls with five fours. The win, India’s third on the go in this World Cup, ensconced their position at the top of Group ‘B’. Save a disaster, they will feature in the knockouts.
The UAE’s Shaiman Anwar, who smashed a 79-ball ton against Ireland, top-scored with 35 and added 31 for the last wicket with Guruge to save his side the blushes. Andri Berenger fell to Umesh Yadav, easily India’s best and fastest pacer with figures of 6.3-2-15-2 to boot. The Nagpur lad consistently hit the high 140s, ensuring the batsmen were wary all along. So much so that India didn’t miss their spearhead, Mohammed Shami, one bit.
The afternoon, however, belonged to Ashwin. Introduced in the 11th over, he mesmerised Krishnachandran Karate with a slowish delivery outside off, the Malayalee only managing to offer a catch to Suresh Raina at leg slip.
Four overs later, he induced an edge off the bat of Swapnil Patil, the only other Indian in the opposite camp, to pull off a classic Test match-style dismissal. This time, it was Dhawan who took the catch at first slip. Extracting bounce off the WACA pitch is one of the easiest tasks in cricket, and Ashwin did it well. That apart, he dished out several variations including the carom ball. The UAE batsmen had no idea how to counter him. Ashwin also dismissed Khurran Khan and Mohammad Naveed.