Dubai [UAE], September 11 (ANI): India's bowling coach Morne Morkel lauded the team's bowlers for their impressive performance against the UAE in their Asia Cup opener, stating that their focused preparation ahead of the match paid off.

India flexed their muscles, mercilessly outclassing the UAE in a nine-wicket win on their home soil, while chasing just 58 runs during their Asia Cup campaign opener at Dubai on Tuesday.

In a video posted by BCCI on X, Morkel said, 'Yeah, a very solid start by the boys with the ball tonight. We haven't played a lot of wide-ball cricket for a while, so I thought that leading into the game, our preparation was very focused. I think that is one thing that we did exceptionally well.'

A four-wicket haul from Kuldeep Yadav (4/7) and a fine spell from Shivam Dube (3/7) bundled out the UAE for just 57 runs in 13.1 overs, with openers Alishan Sharafu (22) and skipper Muhammed Waseem (19) being the only ones to touch double figures.

Morkel revealed that his pre-match conversation with the players centred on finding their rhythm, bringing high energy, and projecting a strong body language.

'I think that is our conversation going into the game, was to find our feet, put a lot of energy, bring a bit of body language, when we have the ball in our hands, and yeah, we nailed the first half,' he concluded.

Abhishek Sharma and vice-captain Shubman Gill unleashed destruction right from ball one, enabling India to chase down the total in just 4.3 overs, a grand total of just 27 balls.

Yadav soared past former frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's T20I wickets tally after his scorching four-wicket haul. He moved past Axar Patel and Ashwin's tally of 72 wickets each and now boasts 73 scalps in 41 matches at 13.39. In the ninth over, he truly put his masterclass on exhibition and carved his name in history. (ANI)