The Women’s Asia Cup is set to get off to a shocking start with defending champions India taking on tough opposition Pakistan in a highly-anticipated match on Friday.
The eight participating teams will be keen to use the tournament to solidify their strategies and line-ups ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
India, led by Harmanpreet Kaul, have won three of the four editions played in the T20 format and all four editions played in the ODI format, making them the favourites to win this edition of the Asia Cup.
India boasts the most successful track record in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 with an impressive record of 17 wins from 20 matches, including beating Bangladesh in the final in the last tournament in 2022.
Moreover, India have maintained their dominating form against Pakistan in the shortest format, winning 11 and losing just three of their 14 meetings so far. Kaul’s side will be looking to build on this impressive history and recent form to claim victory in their Group A encounter.
India drew 1-1 with South Africa earlier this month but Pakistan may be lacking match practice and confidence after the second of the three T20Is was called off.
Their last international match was against England in May, with the hosts comfortably beating the Pakistani side 3-0.
Smiriti Mandhana’s exceptional batting form will be India’s biggest asset at the top of the batting order, but the most notable improvement from their recent performances across all formats has been the development of their bowling attack, with both pace bowlers and spinners putting in impressive performances.
Pooja Vastrakar has been in excellent form with eight wickets in the three matches against South Africa, while Radha Yadav has returned to form in the spin bowling line-up which also includes Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajjana and the energetic Shreyanka Patil.
Pakistan have made significant changes to their squad ahead of the Asia Cup, despite retaining Nida Dar as captain, with the squad being heavily restructured following a disappointing performance in England.
Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad has seen notable changes despite Nida Dar remaining in the captaincy, with Iram Javed, Omaima Sohail and Sayeeda Aloob Shah, who have not played a game this year, joining uncapped Tasmia Rubab in the squad while six other players have been omitted.
Nepal takes on UAE
Nepal and the United Arab Emirates, also in Group A, are scheduled to face off at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium earlier in the day.
The top two teams from each group will face off in the semi-finals.
The UAE will be participating for the second consecutive year and have been in good form this year, winning more than half of their matches, while Nepal will be participating for the first time since 2016.
There are concerns over Nepal’s lack of playing time recently, with their last game coming in a loss to Malaysia in the Asian Cricket Council Women’s Premier Cup in mid-February.
The UAE last played a competitive match in May, when they lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-final of a T20 World Cup qualifier.
(with PTI input)
The eight participating teams will be keen to use the tournament to solidify their strategies and line-ups ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
India, led by Harmanpreet Kaul, have won three of the four editions played in the T20 format and all four editions played in the ODI format, making them the favourites to win this edition of the Asia Cup.
India boasts the most successful track record in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 with an impressive record of 17 wins from 20 matches, including beating Bangladesh in the final in the last tournament in 2022.
Moreover, India have maintained their dominating form against Pakistan in the shortest format, winning 11 and losing just three of their 14 meetings so far. Kaul’s side will be looking to build on this impressive history and recent form to claim victory in their Group A encounter.
India drew 1-1 with South Africa earlier this month but Pakistan may be lacking match practice and confidence after the second of the three T20Is was called off.
Their last international match was against England in May, with the hosts comfortably beating the Pakistani side 3-0.
Smiriti Mandhana’s exceptional batting form will be India’s biggest asset at the top of the batting order, but the most notable improvement from their recent performances across all formats has been the development of their bowling attack, with both pace bowlers and spinners putting in impressive performances.
Pooja Vastrakar has been in excellent form with eight wickets in the three matches against South Africa, while Radha Yadav has returned to form in the spin bowling line-up which also includes Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajjana and the energetic Shreyanka Patil.
Pakistan have made significant changes to their squad ahead of the Asia Cup, despite retaining Nida Dar as captain, with the squad being heavily restructured following a disappointing performance in England.
Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad has seen notable changes despite Nida Dar remaining in the captaincy, with Iram Javed, Omaima Sohail and Sayeeda Aloob Shah, who have not played a game this year, joining uncapped Tasmia Rubab in the squad while six other players have been omitted.
Nepal takes on UAE
Nepal and the United Arab Emirates, also in Group A, are scheduled to face off at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium earlier in the day.
The top two teams from each group will face off in the semi-finals.
The UAE will be participating for the second consecutive year and have been in good form this year, winning more than half of their matches, while Nepal will be participating for the first time since 2016.
There are concerns over Nepal’s lack of playing time recently, with their last game coming in a loss to Malaysia in the Asian Cricket Council Women’s Premier Cup in mid-February.
The UAE last played a competitive match in May, when they lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-final of a T20 World Cup qualifier.
(with PTI input)
