They anyway didn’t need to bat long. UAE, making their first Asia Cup appearance in 10 years, were rolled over for just 57 in 13.1 overs, leaving Kuldeep on a hat-trick till whenever he plays again.

It was that sort of a comprehensive performance where barring Pandya, every bowler got at least a wicket. UAE tried to hold their own with openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem before they were just outsmarted and outclassed by a superior game. While it was truly a mismatch of unfair proportions, it did provide a peek into an exciting future for India.

Pandya opening the bowling isn’t a new ploy, but Dube getting three wickets in 10 balls definitely raises expectations. UAE batters aren’t exactly the international yardstick but if bowling straight was the brief, Dube sure nailed it. A back of the length ball to get an edge off Asif Khan, a length ball that just went with the hand to smash into Dhruv Parashar’s pad, and finally a fuller one that Junai Siddique was forced to spear showed Dube can be slower in the air but more difficult to be hit. Which, on two-paced subcontinent pitches, is worth its weight in gold. Only twice till date has Dube bowled his full quota of overs, something he might never be required to as well but this will give him some confidence.

Promising, however, was the way Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav bowled in tandem. A left-arm wrist spinner is as much a mystery bowler as Chakravarthy is with his repertoire. Which is why this was like a four-over trailer to what could happen in Sunday’s clash against Pakistan.

The gulf in quality notwithstanding, it isn’t easy to read Kuldeep and Chakravarthy in tandem, what with the infinite permutations they can create with spin or the lack of it, bounce and varyingly discomforting speeds and trajectories. Adding Patel to this mix makes India’s spin bowling all the more riveting.

And it’s a theme India could repeat, Suryakumar later said. “The pitch looked good but it looked on the slower side. It is very hot here, so I thought spinners might have a bit more dominance,” said the India captain.

Three spinners in the attack gave him the licence to go with Chakravarthy in the Powerplay. And he straightaway got a wicket, making Muhammad Zohaib swing blindly across the line and get a top edge. The best thing with Kuldeep is that he hardly takes time to announce himself. His first over was a loosener of sorts, checking the run flow with different lengths at separate trajectories. The UAE batters looked all at sea.

Next over he started with a flighted ball, teasing Rahul Chopra to go for a massive hoick but he couldn’t clear Shubman Gill at long-on. Three balls later, Waseem thought it would be a good idea to sweep Kuldeep.

The idea was understandable, given the ball was given some air, but keeping the front leg out of the stumps is difficult to execute even for seasoned batters. Brilliant, though, was the googly that outclassed Harshit Kaushik. Bowled slightly wider to make Kaushik lunge forward for a drive, the ball snuck in to get a feather edge and on to his stumps. The last wicket was as undramatic as it could be, Haider Ali adjudged caught-behind when it looked there might have been a deflection off the pads. But UAE had no choice but to accept it because they were out of reviews.

With 4/7, yet again Kuldeep waltzed back into the side as if he was never gone. This is a different format though, and different circumstances as well.

As much as Gambhir would love to pack his side with batting options, he knows bowlers are key to maintaining dominance in this format. Going with Bumrah, Kuldeep and Chakravarthy thus seems like a no-brainer.

For India to forge this 11 is proof that they are not going by names but by the need of the hour. The only box left unticked was Samson, who did a fine job behind the wickets but didn’t have the opportunity to bat.

Gill and Sharma added 48 in less than four, followed by Suryakumar who finished the game with two hits. Tilak Varma was padded up to be at No 4, meaning Samson was probably slotted in at No 5. Assuming India go in unchanged for the Pakistan game on Sunday, this is a batting line up you don’t want to go up against.