3 things India need to do right vs Oman in Match 12 of Asia Cup 2025 ft. Jasprit Bumrah

With qualification to the Super 4 stage already sealed, India will play their final group-stage match in the 2025 Asia Cup on Friday, September 19. The Men in Blue will lock horns with Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

This is a fairly straightforward encounter for India, who recorded convincing victories in their first two matches. Oman are the bottom of Group A without any wins to their name and are likely to be completely outmatched against the defending T20 World Cup champions.

However, India have other goals on the cards. Ahead of the next stage of the competition, Suryakumar Yadav and company will want to tick off the remaining boxes without making any tactical errors.

India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Oman's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup: Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedera, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Ali Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Samay Shrivastava.

On that note, here are three things India need to do right in Match 12 of the 2025 Asia Cup against Oman.

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#3 The middle order needs time in the middle

India v United Arab Emirates - Asia Cup - Source: Getty

In the two matches so far, three of India's batters haven't faced a single delivery. With the top order scaling down routine totals, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel haven't been as involved as they'd have liked.

In the final group-stage game, one of India's foremost priorities will be to give the trio some much-needed game time. Samson is taking up a new role in the middle order, while Hardik and Axar's finishing capabilities will need to be tested.

India can't afford to persist with the same batting order and must ensure that these batters, as well as Shivam Dube and Tilak Varma, get into a rhythm.

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#2 Suryakumar Yadav and Co. should rest Jasprit Bumrah and potentially field two specialist quicks

India v England - 2nd T20I - Source: Getty

Jasprit Bumrah hasn't been at his absolute best during the 2025 Asia Cup so far, but India would do well to give him a break. The ace spearhead is playing his first few matches since struggling with his fitness during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and a dead-rubber encounter shouldn't require his services.

Without Bumrah, India could play either Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana. They could even choose to field both by dropping either a spinner or a batter, in order to ascertain who is higher in the pecking order. Conditions in Abu Dhabi are expected to be more pace-friendly, and picking two specialist fast bowlers would be a wise choice for the Men in Blue.

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#1 India need to find a way to either bat first or have a reasonable target

India v England - 4th T20I - Source: Getty

India have chased in both matches thus far. In their opening game against the United Arab Emirates, Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl first despite winning the toss.

Against Oman, the toss has become important. India need to bat first to give their batters time in the middle while also tuning their approach for a situation in which they will have to set a total. If Jatinder Singh wins the toss and chooses to bat, Suryakumar would do well to toss the ball to a few part-timers.

Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube, who are all capable of rolling their arm over, could ensure that the Oman innings is prolonged for a bit, giving the team's batters - themselves included - something to chase. It would also help India tune their fringe bowling options.