'Indian players kept provoking Pakistani players during the Under-19 Asia Cup final.'
Sameer Minhas underlines his early promise with a clutch hundred against India
India had entered the tournament on a high, demolishing the UAE by 234 runs in their opening match, powered by a Suryavanshi century.
Eyeing a record-extending 12th title, a dominant India will look to underline their supremacy over arch-rivals Pakistan when they clash in the Under-19 Asia Cup final at the ICC Academy, in Dubai on Sunday.
14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi produced an exhibition of magnificent strokeplay, smashing 171 from just 95 balls, including 14 sixes and nine fours.
The 19-year-old looked set for a double century and join the likes of India's Abhigyan Kundu and South Africa's Jorich Van Schalkwyk in the elite 200-plus club.
Almost all the Indian batters ended their batting sessions with lofted shots. Every few minutes, screams of 'Watch out!' filled the air -- not from the players, but from scribes trying to protect their laptops, cameras, and skulls.
After days of off-field drama, Team India was back on the field in Dubai at the ICC Academy, sharpening their skills ahead of the final Group A clash against Oman.
Despite cancelling the press conference, Pakistan will go ahead with the scheduled training session, ANI reported, quoted ESPNcricinfo.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav has lauded the energy and commitment of his teammates on the opening day of training ahead of the Asia Cup
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
Focus firmly on match, India-Pakistan clash will be interesting: Kotak
India will take on the UAE in their tournament-opener on September 10 before facing arch rivals Pakistan at Dubai on September 14. Their third group match will be against Oman on September 19 before the Super Four stage.
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
Defending champions India had a full-fledged practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday as they put the finishing touches to their Asia Cup preparations.
The alarming part is in 10 innings, Suryakumar Yadav has managed only 10 fours and three sixes and dot ball percentage has gone up to nearly 48, translating to five dot balls in every delivery.
YIndia's batting unit includes Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, who can all open the innings. Jaiswal will only be drafted in if one of them is ruled out due to injury. Similarly, Prasidh Krishna could only come into contention if there is an issue with Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, or Harshit Rana.
'It's really important to be very good friends off the field. When you open together, that bond matters. Sometimes you don't have to say anything in the middle.'
Shivam Dube remains a vital cog in India's T20 set-up and bowling coach Morne Morkel wants the Mumbai all-rounder to step up as a back-up medium pacer ahead of the T20 World Cup, in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir's philosophy of packing the XI with multi-skilled cricketers.
'Scoring those half-centuries and winning the trophy for India is indeed special.'
Such is the race for breaking news that if an Indian player sneezes, a report may immediately go out stating he may have caught the flu bug and could be a doubtful starter!
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
When I asked UAE Skipper Muhammad Waseem why his team did not appeal for a walkover, he said his team had come to play, and that they had decided to wait as per the request from the authorities. Would any Test-playing country have waited and remained sporting enough to sacrifice their opportunity to play in the knock-out stage?
There are many Indian fans in Dubai, who, as a mark of protest, have decided to give this match a miss.
Australia had an intense three-hour practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai, focusing on their play against spin.
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batted. Mohammed Shami looked good as in ran in with steam in the nets.
'I will watch India's match against New Zealand with no tension -- just enjoy the cricket.'
When a few fans called out his name, he instructed the security team to let them approach.
New Zealand called up two local left-arm wrist spinners to bowl to left-handers Tom Latham and Michael Bracewell at their nets in Dubai on Saturday.
Shubman Gill, who has been India's stand out batter in the tournament, was the only one who did not turn up for practice.
On linking up with the squad, the former South Africa pacer was seen having a long chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir as the players did their warm-up drills at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
'We're excited about the game, and obviously, if you can win, it builds a lot of momentum going into the semifinal.'
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has dismissed claims that his team had an unfair advantage in the Champions Trophy by being stationed in Dubai.
'... when I'm not quite at my best and not feeling that great out there, is my ability to still contribute and take those big wickets.'
Indian captain Virat Kohli arrived two hours early for practice ahead of the crucial Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan, focusing on his struggles against spin bowling.
With little time wasted, the fans captured the cricketers' pictures and videos on their phones, standing a mere 5 metres away and separated only by a barricade and a few security personnel.
Unaware that the area was filled with cricket fans, he had a tough time managing the crowd.
Tamilians and Keralites believe he is one of them, and people from Karnataka also consider him their hero.
'Even in PlayStation games, he was keen to win.'
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