India defeated the United Arab Emirates by 116 runs in their opening match of the Asia Cup cricket tournament in Dambulla on Friday.
The weather gods blessed Dambulla with sunshine and the Indians exploited it to win comprehensively.
India scored 260 for the loss of six wickets. The innings was built around a brilliant century, the first at Dambulla, by Rahul Dravid, who scored 104. Mohammad Kaif, with 32 off 30 balls, and Irfan Pathan, 1 off 1 ball, were the unbeaten batsmen.
Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji then came out and, in inspired spell, took out five UAE wickets before the innings reached the ten-over mark. The result was never in doubt after that. The UAE were dismissed for 144 in 35 overs, after Mohammed Tauqir scored his first half-century in One-Day Internationals.
Dravid was adjudged the man-of-the-match.
India Innings:
India decided to go into the match with three paceman -- Irfan Pathan, L Balaji and Zaheer Khan -- and that meant there was place for only one spinner. The team management decided to go with Anil Kumble, and Harbhajan Singh was rested.
Sourav Ganguly won the toss and, as expected, elected to bat. Back in action after a long break, the Indians quickly grabbed the opportunity to get used to the conditions in the middle. But if there were any doubts about the ability of the UAE, they were set to rest in the first over itself.
Cricket is a subtle game. On the face of it, it seems calm and serene, but what it hides behind the facade is unquestionable and unpredictable violence. The fielding side wants to dismiss the batsmen at all costs while the batsmen look to hit the ball as hard as possible.
Ali Asad started off the proceedings for the UAE and was immediately bang on a length. A tall, lanky bowler, he stuck to a good line and length and the UAE, as a side, got a huge boost when Sehwag was run-out off the third ball of the innings.
The Indian opener turned the ball to the short fine leg region and set off for a quick single but was sent back mid-way by Sachin Tendulkar. Sehwag was stranded and caught outside his crease by a direct hit from Naeemuddin Aslam. (0 for 1)
India could have been in a very big hole off the very next ball if Sourav Ganguly had not been dropped at first slip. Asad pitched the ball in line with the off-stump and Ganguly edged a regulation catch to first slip, but was lucky to survive. India could have very easily been two wickets down with nothing on the board.
The India skipper received another life in the third over, again off Asad. The left-hander flayed outside the off-stump once again. It was a nervous start by the Indians and it was mainly down to the fact that they had been out of action for a long time now. But to their credit, the UAE bowlers stuck to their game plan and it paid dividends. The good start by the UAE bowlers only served to make the Indians more cautious.
Tendulkar (18 runs off 25 balls) tried to take matters into his own hands at the other end. He showed his intentions with two well-driven boundaries through the covers. But then Asim Saeed earned the master batsman's wicket and US $1000 that was promised as bonus for it. An inside edge off an attempted flick ended up at short midwicket and Fahad Usman made no mistake. (30 for 2)
At the end of the 15th over, India were 58 for 2, a run-rate of 3.87. The Indians were noticeably rusty and that contributed to their lackluster showing.
V V S Laxman walked in next and announced himself with an amazing front-foot pull for six and followed it up with a classic on-drive for four. But then, as has become the norm for Laxman, his concentration lapsed and he popped the ball back to the bowler, Mohammad Tauqir.
Laxman was gone for 14 and India were struggling at 65 for three.
That brought captain Ganguly and vice-captain Rahul Dravid together at the crease. Ganguly was living a charmed life. Edges, mis-hits and bad running between wickets all seemed part of his armoury.
But Dravid was in sublime touch. From the first ball he stroked the ball beautifully off the back-foot. That was perhaps the biggest difference between the two -- Ganguly wanted to go after the bowling while Dravid was prepared to bide his time.
India's 100 came up in the 25th over as the duo looked to get the Indian innings back on track.
The 88-run partnership between Ganguly and Dravid came to an end right after a drinks break in the 34th over. Ganguly came down the wicket in a bid to get the maximum but holed out to the man at long-on. He scored 55 off 102 balls. (153 for 4)
Dravid showed no sign of rustiness at all. He reached his fifty off 49 balls. And played strokes all around the ground with an ease that was unlike those batting opposite him.
Yuvraj Singh was immediately into his stride. He scored 22 off 25 balls with the help of two slog-sweeps for four, but was the clean bowled, going for a big hit, by Khuram Khan. (195 for 5)
Mohammad Kaif and Dravid then set about trying to make sure India reached a respectable total. They seemed all set to play out the remaining overs when Dravid was dismissed in the last over of the innings. (254 for 6)
Dravid's innings was the template for a perfect ODI innings. It had only 30 dot balls. The 40 singles and eight boundaries showed he rarely let a ball go waste. His 104, off 93 balls, was the cornerstone of the Indian innings.
UAE Innings
The UAE were quickly brought back to reality by a nasty short-pitched delivery from Irfan Pathan in the first over. The opener, Arshad Ali, could do little but fend at the ball. Dravid took an easy catch. (1 for 1)
The young left-armer seems to have made a habit of getting the openers out in the first over by bowling a surprise bouncer. He did the same in Australia and Pakistan and every time he seems to get the desired result.
Laxmipathy Balaji struggled in his first over, which went for nine runs, but then settled into a beautiful rhythm. Both the youngsters got the ball to swing both ways and deserved to get the new ball ahead of Zaheer Khan.
The other opener, Asim Saeed (12 off 17), hit another Pathan delivery straight to Kaif at mid-wicket to start a slide that saw UAE slip to 45 for the loss of 6 wickets. The game was effectively over after this. The UAE batsmen then only sought to salvage some respect. And they got it.
The swing and pace of the Indian pacers proved to be too much for the inexperienced batsmen. The next three wickets (Naeemuddin Aslam, Fahad Usman and Khuram Khan) to fall were all trapped leg before the wicket - playing across the line. Pathan took his wicket tally to three and Balaji joined in the fun, taking two wickets.
The promise they UAE had shown while bowling quickly frittered out in the face of some hostile bowling by the Indians that seemed to become faster as the match wore on.
Zaheer Khan also got into the act. He claimed a wicket in his first over back since recovering from a hamstring injury. It was a regulation dismissal with Syed Maqsood pushing at a delivery that was angling past him.
The Indians should have mopped up the tail but they faced some dogged resistance from Ali Khan and Mohammaed Tauqir. The duo put on 52 runs to frustrate the Indians. The partnership was finally broken by Anil Kumble, who trapped Ali Khan in front of his castle.
Sachin Tendulkar, then, claimed the final three wickets to wrap up the tail, but not before Tauqir became the first UAE batsman of the current squad to make a fifty. UAE were all out for 144.
Tauqir's innings was studded with eight boundaries and if he had received some support from the top order, UAE might have made the Indians sweat just a little bit more.
The UAE also showed that they are a disciplined side but it takes more than just discipline to win at the highest level. They gave India a good work-out but nothing more.
At the end of the day, India proved to be too strong in all departments to win the Group B encounter by 116 runs. `Team India' also claimed the bonus points available.
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