As defending champions India face their fierce rivals Pakistan in a highly anticipated clash on Friday, the Women’s Asia Cup is set for an electrifying start.
The tournament will be used by the eight participating teams as an opportunity to fine-tune their tactics and combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
India led by Harmanpreet Kaur are favorites to win this edition of the Asia Cup having won it three times out of four played in the T20 format and all four occasions it was played as an ODI tournament.
On top of that, India has also fared well against Bangladesh and triumphed over them in the final.
Furthermore, such an impressive form had once seen India beat Pakistan 11 times while on three occasions losing to them only. This successful history coupled with good performance recently should see Kaur’s team win this game against Group A counterparts.
However, unlike India who warmed up with a 1-1 draw against South Africa (with second T20I washed out), Pakistan haven’t had any competitive match practice until now.Pakistan’s last international tour was to England last May where they were whitewashed by three-nil.
Smriti Mandhana’s scintillating batting form will augur well for India at the top order. Nevertheless, what has stood out most from their recent cross-format performances has been how much depth their bowling attack has developed with both pacers and spinners coming up trumps on different occasions
She did pick up eight wickets from her three matches played versus South Africa which means she is indeed giving a very good account of herself. Furthermore, there have been happy returns for Radha Yadav into the ranks of spin department. The slow bowling department also consists of Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana and Shreyanka Patil whose energy will be crucial for defense.
Despite Nida Dar being retained as captain, Pakistan brought about huge changes in their squad for the Asia Cup. The side has been overhauled after a poor show in England.
Despite retaining Nida Dar as captain, several major alterations have been made to Pakistan’s Asia Cup squad. Iram Javed was not involved this year and neither was Omaima Sohail nor Syeda Aroob Shah who were picked alongside Tasmia Rubab, an uncapped bowler, while six others were dropped from the roster.
Nepal take on UAE
Earlier on the same day at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Nepal will face off against UAE as both teams are part of Group A.
The top two teams in each group will make it through to the semis.
UAE had their second consecutive appearance and won just over half their matches played this year whereas Nepal has come back since 2016.
Nepal’s lack of recent playing time is concerning as they last featured against Malaysia in the Asian Cricket Council Women’s Premier tournament in mid-February where they suffered defeat
In May, UAE were last seen in action when they were defeated by Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup Qualifier semifinal.
