ICC World Cup: India give cricketing lesson to UAE with nine-wicket win

Perth After the bowlers led by offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin 425 bundled out UAE for a paltry 102 in only 313 overs the batsmen made short work of the target knocking off the required runs in only 185 overs in a completely lopsided Pool B contestIndia thus maintained their grip on the top spot in the league table with three wins from as many matches which took their points tally to six With three matches against West Indies Zimbabwe and Ireland left Dhoni and his boys are well on course of topping the groupShikhar Dhawan 14 started off well with three sweetlytimed boundaries before Rohan Mustafa at gully pulled off a onehanded stunner to send him back The pacer was Mohammed NaveedRohit Sharma hit a fluent unbeaten 57 off 55 deliveries with the help of 10 fours and a six to notch up a significant score before the West Indies gameIndias Ravichandran Ashwin C celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of United Arab Emirates batsmen K Karate during the 2015 Cricket World Cup Pool B match between the UAE and India in Perth PicAFPWhile runs against UAE may not be the best indicator of anyones current form but some of Rohits silken strokes would certainly keep the Caribbean bowlers worried before the duel on March 6Two strokes that stand out were cover drives off rival captain Mohammed Tauqirs offspin The first was hit through extra cover and the longoff fielder failed to stop it The second off the very next delivery was hit finer and the result was same Even when Rohit played the pull shot it seemed as if he was indulging in touchplay rather use sheer muscle Virat Kohli 33 not out had a calm day in office Despite that he added 75 runs for the unbroken second wicket with Rohit in 122 oversThe winning boundary was hit by Rohit and the celebrations were predictably muted as the win against UAE was taken for granted Ealier Indias bowling unit continued to impress as it skittled out a belowpar United Arab Emirates for a meagre 102 in the teams third group league match of the ICC Cricket World Cup here todayOpting to bat at the WACA the UAE batsmen couldnt replicate their spirited performance of the two previous games as the bowlers led by spinner Ravichandran Ashwin performed like a welloiled machine to dismiss the opposition in 313 oversThis was the lowest team total against India in World CupAshwin with splendid careerbest figures of 425 in 63 overs his first fourwicket haul was the pick of the bowlers and he also got good support from the likes of Umesh Yadav 215 comeback man Bhuvneshwar Kumar 119 find of the season Mohit Sharma 116 and Ravindra Jadeja 223 who kept the pressure from the other endWhile the WACA wicket is known for its pace and bounce Dhoni decimated the opposition with his slow bowlers as the minnows didnt have an iota of idea about Ashwins deliveriesNeither could they gauje the straighter ones nor did they have the wherewithal to play the conventional offbreak And the doosra was something that they simply couldnt readThe match virtually turned into a no show within the first 20 overs when the UAE were reduced to 54 for six Some of the shots that UAE batsmen played were testimony as to why ICC is making it a 10team tournament from the next editionIt was Bhuvneshwar who started the slide with Amjad Ali 4 failing to execute a hook shot His opening partner Andri Berenger also fell prey to the hook shot as a Yadav delivery was too quick for him and Dhoni took another easy catchFrom there on it was Ashwins show as he had the batsmen in his grips Krishna Karate 4 got one to jump and Raina took a catch at legslip while Dhawan took a smart one to dismiss Swapnil Patil 7Tournaments oldest player Khurram Khan attempted a sweep shot off a delivery that pitched full and bounced a shade more as Raina ran from his first slip position towards legslip to complete the easiest of catchesShaiman Anwar 35 not out 6x4 UAEs man in form tried his bit but there wasnt any support from the other end It was Anwar whose plucky shots got his teams total past 100run markThee sixth UAE wicket to fall was lefthander Rohan Mustafa 2 who couldnt bring his bat down to a ball from Sharma that nipped back a little to wrap him on the backfootBrief scores UAE 102 all out in 313 overs Shaiman Anwar 35 Ravichandran Ashwin 425 India 104 for one in 185 overs Rohit Sharma 57 Virat Kohli 33 Mohammad Naveed 135