The Asia Women’s Cup T20 cricket tournament is set to commence on Friday, with the Indian women’s team playing their opening match against the Pakistan women’s team.
The tournament will kick off with two matches. The first match between Nepal and UAE will start at 2 PM, followed by the highly anticipated clash between India and Pakistan at 7 PM. Historically, India has dominated this rivalry, winning 11 out of the 14 matches played against Pakistan. However, in the 2016 T20 World Cup held in Delhi, Pakistan narrowly defeated India by two runs, marking the only instance where these two teams faced each other on Indian soil. In the Asia Cup, India boasts six wins against Pakistan, although they lost in their last encounter in the tournament.
India’s Recent Performance
Over the past year, the Indian women’s team has shown commendable performances in T20 cricket, playing 17 matches and securing 10 victories, with two matches ending in draws. The team clinched a gold medal at the Asian Games by defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the final. Despite back-to-back home series defeats against England and Australia, India bounced back with a 5–0 clean sweep against Bangladesh at home. Their recent three-match T20 series against South Africa concluded in a 1-1 draw, with one match being washed out due to rain.
The Indian team is banking on the dynamic opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, both of whom are in excellent form. Alongside them, captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, and Deepti Sharma are expected to deliver strong performances.
Tournament Format and Teams A total of eight teams are participating in the Women’s Asia Cup Cricket Tournament, providing cricket fans with 15 exciting matches over 10 days. In addition to the traditional powerhouses, emerging teams from Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal, and UAE have also been included. This marks Thailand’s fourth appearance in the tournament, while Malaysia and Nepal have participated twice each, and this is the second tournament for the UAE team.
Groupings The teams are divided into two groups. Group A includes India, Pakistan, UAE, and Nepal. Group B features hosts Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Notably, Thailand reached the semi-finals in the previous edition by defeating Pakistan, and this year they are led by 20-year-old captain Thipach Puttawong, with Nitish Salekar from Maharashtra as their coach.
The match between India and Pakistan will be broadcast live on Star Sports Network, starting at 7 PM on Friday.
Indian Team Roster Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Arundhati Reddy, Shobhana Asha, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chhetri, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Shreyanka Patil, Sanjevan Sajna, Dayalan Hemlata.
Pakistan Team Roster Nida Dar (captain), Tasmia Rubab, Iram Javed, Omaima Sohail, Gul Feroja, Diana Baig, Tuba Hasan, Nashra Sandhu, Naziha Alvi, Fatima Sana, Muniba Ali, Alia Riaz, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Syeda Arub Shah.
Indian Team Matches Schedule
- July 19: India vs Pakistan (7 PM)
- July 21: India vs UAE (2 PM)
- July 23: India vs Nepal (7 PM)
Cricket enthusiasts can look forward to a thrilling tournament as these teams vie for the prestigious Asia Women’s Cup T20 title.
