Asia Cup: India look to fine-tune Super Four preparations against Oman

Dubai: As mismatches go, today’s last Group match between defending Asia Cup champions India and debutants Oman is right up there. The Men in Blue have expectedly qualified for the Super Four after resounding victories over UAE and Pakistan, while Oman have lost against those two sides leading to an early exit ‑ no surprises there.

The teams have different priorities going into their first meeting. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will be looking to get some much-needed batting practice and are expected to bat first if they win the toss. The middle- and lower middle- order of Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel can do with time at the crease ahead of their second meeting with arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. But more on that clash later.

For now, India have to decide whether to play Jasprit Bumrah today, or keep him fresh for the three Super Four matches and a possible final ‑ that’s 4 matches in 8 days. The rest of the side is likely to be unchanged as India will not want to miss out on some serious match practice against a side giving it one last shot.

 Here’s how the two teams are likely to approach this encounter…

A big learning curve

For Oman, this is their last match against a Full Member team before they host a tournament of serious consequence next month ‑ the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier. They are one of nine teams taking part in that tournament, of whom three will make it to next year's T20 World Cup. The chance to play against two of the best sides in the world will have done their preparations no harm.

Against both Pakistan and UAE, the bowlers did their part, but it was their batters who failed to fire, with none getting past 30. There haven’t been any substantial partnerships as a result and those are areas they will be looking to improve against India as they look to sign off on a respectable note.

Dress rehearsal

While it’s never wise to underestimate any side, India will like to use this match as preparation ahead of their Super Four clash against Pakistan. The Abu Dhabi pitch doesn't offer quite as much help for spin as Dubai does, so chances are India may even go in with a spinner less, if only to give the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana a chance to get some overs under their belt, especially if Bumrah is to be rested for the dead rubber.

With the Super Four teams now decided and matches against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to come, the Indian think-tank will not be experimenting too much with their lineup given that the shorter T20 format doesn’t take as much out of the players.

Expect India to show no mercy in this lopsided encounter.