Cricket: India eye perfect group-stage record at Asia Cup 2025 against Oman
India to use Oman match to fine-tune lineup
India are well on course to defend their Asia Cup title and confirm our cricket predictions, having already secured their place in the Super 4s of the competition with a game against Oman still in hand.
The Men in Blue have won both games in the tournament so far and will now look to use their final match of the group to give their batsmen some time in the middle before entering the business end of the competition, where they are likely to lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan again.
Suryakumar Yadav’s side have not really been tested in this year’s showpiece. They kicked off their title defence by chasing down the UAE’s 57-run target in under five overs before making fairly light work of the Shaheens last weekend en route to a seven-wicket victory.
With India and Pakistan currently level on four points, there is a world in which the Green Shirts could finish top of the group, though that would require a massive defeat for the title holders here, which seems extremely unlikely given Oman’s results in the competition.
The Jatinder Singh-led side suffered a 93-run defeat against Pakistan in their opening match of the tournament and lost by 42 runs chasing down the United Arab Emirates' target of 172/5 at this venue on Monday afternoon.
Potential changes for India team against Oman
In addition to giving their batsman a chance to get some time at the wicket, India will also be able to rest a few players here, while also affording game time to those who have yet to feature in the tournament so far.
To date, four members within the Indian squad have not featured at all in the competition, while three players who made the starting 11 against the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan failed to face a single delivery.
Gautam Gambhir may be tempted to push Sanju Samson back to the top of the order here, potentially alongside Abhishek Sharma, while Jasprit Bumrah will likely be given the afternoon off as the team continues to try to manage his workload.
If Bumrah is rested, Arshdeep Singh will likely take the new ball for the defending champions, while Kuldeep Yadav and newly confirmed world number-one-ranked T20I bowler Varun Chakaravarthy will provide the spin options.
