UAE captain Waseem vows to ‘come back stronger’ after India thrashing

DUBAI: United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Muhammad Waseem remained confident in his team’s ability to stage a strong comeback after a gruelling defeat in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 campaign opener against India here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Put into bat first, UAE’s batting unit could yield 57 runs before being bowled out in 13.1 overs.

They, however, had a relatively decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Alishan Sharafu (22) and skipper Waseem (19) put together 26 runs at a brisk rate.

But after the openers’ dismissals, India’s bowling attack swept through their remaining batting order and booked UAE for their lowest total in T20Is.

In response, India comfortably chased down the 58-run target for the loss of just one wicket and 93 balls to spare.

Leading the way for them in the run chase was left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who top-scored with a 16-ball 30, studded with three sixes and two fours, while fellow opener Shubman Gill chipped in with an unbeaten 20 off just nine deliveries.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Waseem highlighted that they started well with the bat but acknowledged that losing wickets in a cluster cost them the match.

He also lauded Indian for executing their plans, set for every UAE batter.

“We started well as a batting team, we lose wickets in a cluster which cost us the game. They are a brilliant team and they are bowling very well. They are executing their plans for every batter, that's why they are the No.1 team,” said Waseem.

The defeat served as a massive setback to UAE’s Asia Cup 2025 campaign as their net run rate succumbed to a negative 10.483, but Waseem remained hopeful for a turnaround.

“As a team we will try to come back stronger and learn from our mistakes.”