3 Player Battles to Watch Out for in India vs UAE, Match 2 of 2025 Asia Cup ft. Suryakumar Yadav

Team India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will face each other in Match 2 of the 2025 Asia Cup. The T20I game will be played at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.

So far, the two sides have met only once in T20Is. India won that match by nine wickets in the 2016 Asia Cup at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka.

Shaiman Anwar (43 off 48 balls) was the only top performer with the bat for UAE as they scored 81/9 in 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the best bowler for India, with figures of 4-2-8-2. The Men in Blue chased down the small target in just 10.1 overs, with opener Rohit Sharma scoring 39 runs from 28 balls. This time, the UAE will hope to give a stronger fight against the 2024 T20 World Cup winners.

The UAE played a tri-nation series with Pakistan and Afghanistan before the 2025 Asia Cup. But they had a poor run, losing all four matches.

India, on the other hand, beat England 4-1 in a home T20I series earlier this year. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy, India have not lost a single T20I bilateral series so far.

India and UAE are in Group A of the 2025 Asia Cup along with Pakistan and Oman. Here are three key battles to watch out for:

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1. Jasprit Bumrah (India) vs Muhammad Waseem (UAE)

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem is their top batter in T20Is. In the recent tri-nation series, he scored 163 runs in four games with a strike rate of 158.25. He is also UAE’s leading run-scorer in T20Is with 2,922 runs from 82 matches.

He will face Jasprit Bumrah, India’s star fast bowler. Bumrah was the Player of the Tournament in the 2024 T20 World Cup with 15 wickets in eight games at an economy of just 4.17. He has taken 28 wickets in powerplays and will be key for India against Waseem.

2. Suryakumar Yadav (India) vs Haider Ali (UAE)

Suryakumar Yadav had a poor series against England, scoring only 28 runs in five games. But he came back strong in IPL 2025, where he scored 717 runs in 16 innings — the most by a non-opener in a single season.

His battle with UAE’s left-arm spinner Haider Ali will be important. SKY has a T20I strike rate of 147.65 against spinners but only 123.47 against left-arm spin. He was also dismissed by left-arm spinners five times in 32 innings. Ali did well in the tri-nation series, taking six wickets in four matches at an economy of 6.25.

3. Abhishek Sharma (India) vs Junaid Siddique (UAE)

Opener Abhishek Sharma has made a big name with his fearless batting. He hit 135 runs off just 54 balls in the last T20I against England in February. In IPL 2025, he scored 439 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of 193.39.

UAE will look to veteran pacer Junaid Siddique to stop him. Siddique is UAE’s top wicket-taker in T20Is, with 100 wickets from 75 games. His duel with Abhishek could shape the match.