India claimed their third straight victory at the ICC Cricket World Cup with a comprehensive 9-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates.
The match was all over inside a total of 50.2 overs after the UAE had been bowled out for only 102. The defending champions then sprinted to their target with Rohit Sharma making an unbeaten 57 and Virat Kohli was not out on 33 at the end.
India gave further notice that they aren’t prepared to relinquish their world crown without a fight with a thoroughly professional performance after the UAE had elected to bat first.
All three of their pace bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma picked up a cheap wicket apiece before the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja went to work.
Surrounded by close catchers, the UAE batsmen fell apart and slumped from 41-3 to 71-9.
Ashwin’s 10 over spell brought him career-best figures of 4-25, with Jadeja applying the pressure from the other end in taking 2-23.
Khurram Khan made 14 for the associate qualifiers but the only other batsmen to reach double figures were Shaiman Anwar and Manjula Guruge at the back end of the innings.
Following on from his 67 against Zimbabwe and 106 against Ireland, Anwar again impressed and made 35 before the returning Yadav (2-15) beat him for pace with one that straightened a touch and clattered into middle stump.
He had found an able companion in last man Guruge, who hung around in making 10 not out, sharing a stand of 31, easily the best of the innings.
Despite a huge and passionate Indian following in the WACA, the loudest cheer of the day came when UAE scraped their way to three figures but their eventual all-out total is the lowest score so far in this year’s tournament and the lowest World Cup score ever made against India.
India’s opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan put on 29 before there was a rare moment for the UAE to enjoy.
Dhawan slashed Mohammed Naveed uppishly but the ball’s trajectory was brilliantly interrupted by a leaping one-handed catch from Rohan Mustafa at point.
Despite losing his partner, Rohit shrugged off two disappointing scores in the previous matches to pull Guruge for 6 high into the stands behind square and then took Naveed for three boundaries in an over.
Kohli showed glimpses of his immense talent as the pair sped to 88-1 after 16 overs, at which point they all trooped off for the mandatory 45 minutes mid-innings break.
Resuming, India completed the formality of picking up the 15 they needed, with Rohit reaching his 50 from 48 balls 9x4 1x6) to condemn the UAE, who have Nottinghamshire’s Paul Franks amongst their coaching staff, to their third loss.
India remain on course to finish at the top of Pool B, with 6 points out of 6 and can now relax in Perth, where they face the West Indies in their next match, on Friday.
The UAE’s search for an unlikely first win now switches to Napier, where they will play Pakistan on Wednesday.
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