India crushed the United Arab Emirates by nine wickets, chasing down a paltry 58-run target in just 4.3 overs, in their opening match of the Asia Cup here on Wednesday.
Abhishek Sharma made 30 off 16 balls while his opening partner Shubman Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav remained not out on 20 and 7 respectively as India reached 60 for 1 in 4.3 overs in a completely lopsided match.
Earlier, India bowled the UAE out for a mere 57, with Kuldeep Yadav (4/7) and Shivam Dube (3/4) wreaking havoc with the ball.
Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy also got one wicket each after the UAE were asked to bat first.
Opener Alishan Sharafu top-scored with 22 runs for UAE, who were asked to bat first.
The UAE batters were exposed to such high quality bowling for the first time and were overawed by the big names in the opposition camp, said their head coach Lalchand Rajput, following the nine-wicket loss.
"They never play such kind of bowlers, big names overawed them," Rajput, also a former India cricketer and coach, said after the defeat.
India captain Suryaukmar Yadav said it was a clinical performance from the side.
"Wanted to see how the wicket was playing. It was the same in the 2nd innings. Clinical performance from the boys, we wanted good attitude and energy on the field and that's what we got," he said.
"Recently lot of the boys were here for the Champions Trophy, the wicket looked good but it was on the slower side and the spinners have a role. Here it is very hot right now and Kuldeep did well, got good support from Hardik, Dube and Bumrah,"
The skipper was also lauded young Abhishek Sharma for his exploits upfront.
"He (Abhishek) is currently the World number one batter for a reason, he sets the tone, irrespective of if we chase 200 or 50, unbelievable from him. Everyone is excited for the game against Pakistan," Yadav said.
Brief Scores:
UAE: 57 all out in 13.1 overs (Alishan Sharafu 22; Shivam Dube 3/4, Kuldeep Yadav 4/7).
India: 60 for 1 in 4.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 30, Shubman Gill 20 not out; Junaid Siddique 1/16).