India vs. UAE, Asia Cup: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

It's top versus bottom in the Asia Cup on Thursday, when leaders India take on the cellar-dwelling United Arab Emirates at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh.

The penultimate match of the round-robin stage pits Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Indian juggernaut against the competition's minnows.

The UAE came through qualifying just to reach the main group, and their final outing in the tournament sees them take on a team who are already assured of a place in Sunday's final.

CricketNext tweeted the standings after India's win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday:

Date: Thursday, Mar. 3, 2016

Time: 7:30 p.m. local (1:30 p.m. GMT / 8:30 a.m ET)

Venue: Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Live Stream and TV Info: Star Sports (India), Geo Super, PTV Sports (Pakistan), MTV Sports (Sri Lanka), Channel 9 (Bangladesh), Willow TV (USA), SuperSport (South Africa)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, the temperatures will be around 20 degrees Celsius during the match. There is also a four per cent chance of rain.

Overview

MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/Getty Images

India's five-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Tuesday means they now have an outstanding 8-1 record in Twenty20 internationals in 2016.

Their fine run of form in the shortest format includes a 3-0 series sweep over Australia on their travels, while they have now won three from three at the Asia Cup.

Already certain of occupying one of the top two spots in the table with a game still to go, they must decide whether to stick or twist against the UAE.

A dead rubber offers them the opportunity to try out some of the players in their squad who have so far only been needed to carry the drinks. 

The only switch they have made so far in the competition has been at the top of the order, as Shikhar Dhawan was injured for the five-wicket win over Pakistan. However, the left-hander returned in place of Ajinkya Rahane—who made a first-ball duck in his only knock—for the fixture against Sri Lanka.

Spinners Pawan Negi and Harbhajan Singh, as well as seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have yet to feature, along with spare wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.

However, India might be unwilling to tamper with a winning formula, particularly with the ICC World Twenty20 coming up in March.

Their bowling has been particularly impressive, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya leading the way with six wickets. His addition to the team has given skipper Dhoni an extra dimension to the attack without weakening the length of their batting lineup.

As for the UAE, after going unbeaten in the qualifying section, they have found runs particularly hard to come by against stronger opposition.

They have managed totals of 115 for nine (against Sri Lanka), 82 all out (against Bangladesh) and 129 for six (last time out against Pakistan) so far in the group.

Their bowlers, however, have held their own on surfaces that have been particularly helpful for the seamers. 

Amjad Javed and Mohammad Naveed have claimed 12 and 11 wickets, respectively, with the latter also boasting an impressive economy rate in the tournament of 5.23 runs per over.

Still, it has been a steep learning curve for a team that won't even take part in the qualifying round of matches at the upcoming ICC World Twenty20.

Key Players

India

Virat Kohli made an unbeaten half-century to underpin his side's successful run chase against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. He finished up on 56 not out from 47 deliveries as India won with four balls to spare.

The right-hander now has a T20 average of 103.66 in 2016, per Bharath Seervi of ESPN Cricinfo. If he does play against the UAE, Kohli will hope to make sure that impressive number keeps on going up.

United Arab Emirates

Captain Amjad Javed has led from the front with the ball, while he also weighed in with useful runs (27 of them, in fact) in the seven-wicket defeat against Pakistan on Monday.

The 35-year-old has taken 20 wickets in 14 T20 appearances at international level. Now he gets the chance to add a few of India's star names to his list of scalps.

Squads

India

MS Dhoni (capt and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Parthiv Patel

United Arab Emirates

Amjad Javed (capt), Farhan Ahmed, Mohammad Naveed, Ahmed Raza, Fahad Tariq, Mohammad Shahzad, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Kaleem, Qadeer Ahmed, Swapnil Patil (wkt), Rohan Mustafa, Saqlain Haider, Shaiman Anwar, Usman Mushtaq, Zaheer Maqsood.