You may not believe that the Indian women’s cricket team has dominated Asia for twenty years. Even the men’s team must be jealous of the women’s team’s record in the Asia Cup.
The defending champion Indian women’s cricket team will try to win the Asia Cup title for a record eighth time under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur.
If both ODI and T20 formats are combined, this is the ninth Women’s Asia Cup.
The first four Asia Cups were played in ODI format, while from 2012 the tournament format was changed to T20.
The interesting thing is that every time the Indian team has reached the final. Only in 2018 India missed out on winning the title. Then the Bangladesh team became the champion.
The Women’s Asia Cup 2024 is currently being played in Sri Lanka. 7-time champion India defeated Bangladesh while host Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals to make their place in the title match. There have also been changes in the timing of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 final. As per the schedule, the final match of Women’s Asia Cup 2024 was to be played on 28 July from 7 pm, but due to men’s cricket, the timing of this match has been changed. The final of India vs Sri Lanka Women’s Asia Cup 2024 will now be played from 3 pm Indian time.
Smriti Mandhana’s fine half-century laid the foundation for a strong total against Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup Final 👊
📝: https://t.co/FFgn4t2Xhx | 📸: @ACCMedia1 pic.twitter.com/EBkADaCltF
— ICC (@ICC) July 28, 2024
On the other hand, today India and Sri Lanka will clash for the second time in men’s cricket. A three-match T20 series is currently going on between India and Sri Lanka. In the first match played on 27 July, India defeated the hosts by 43 runs. The second match of the series is to be played today i.e. on 28 July. India vs Sri Lanka second T20 will start at 7 pm Indian time.
🚨 Toss 🚨#TeamIndia win the toss and elect to bat in the #Final against Sri Lanka
Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/RRCHLLmNEt#WomensAsiaCup2024 | #INDvSL | #ACC pic.twitter.com/T60WCAY7mT
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 28, 2024
History: India close to the title for the 9th consecutive time
If ODI and T20 formats are combined, then this is the 9th Women’s Asia Cup and India has reached the title match every time. The first Women’s Asia Cup was played in 2004 between India and Sri Lanka only and India won this five-match tournament 5-0. After this, India won the ODI Asia Cup title by defeating Sri Lanka three times in a row (2005, 2006, 2008).
The Women’s Asia Cup started being played in T20 format from 2012 and India has consistently made it to the finals of the four T20 Asia Cups held so far. Out of these, India has become the winner three times, but in 2018 the Indian team lost to Bangladesh in the final.
In the final of the last T20 Asia Cup held in 2022, India defeated Sri Lanka by a huge margin of eight wickets. Now the Indian team will be eyeing to retain its title, while the Sri Lankan team will want to win its first Asia Cup title by taking revenge for the previous defeat.
Recent form
Both the teams have remained undefeated in the current Asia Cup so far and have reached the final by winning four consecutive matches. In the semi-final match, while the Indian team won easily by 10 wickets against Bangladesh, the Sri Lankan team had to struggle till the last ball to win against Pakistan. Just before the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka was defeated by the West Indies 1-2 in a three-match T20 series at their home ground, while the Indian team also came into this tournament after playing a 1-1 series draw with South Africa.
Head to Head
So far, 24 T20I matches have been played between the two teams, in which India has won 19 while Sri Lanka has won only four matches. One match has ended without any result.
Eyes on Mandhana and Atapattu
Smriti Mandhana has been in excellent form for the last few months. Mandhana, who made a blast by scoring century after century against South Africa, has maintained her form in the Asia Cup as well. After playing an innings of 45 runs in the opening match against Pakistan, she scored a quick half-century against Bangladesh in the semi-final and led her team to a 10-wicket victory.
On the other hand, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Atapattu has a century, a half-century and an unbeaten innings of 49 runs in this tournament. She has scored 243 runs in four innings of this Asia Cup at an average of 121.50 and a strike rate of 148. She would like to maintain this form against India as well and win her first Asia Cup title.
Pitch and conditions
There were some clouds in the semi-final, but during the final the weather will be absolutely clear and the players may have to play in extreme heat. This Asia Cup has been played only on this ground, so the pitch may be used and slow, where the spinners of both the teams would like to take advantage.
Probable XI:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shefali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Tanuja Kanwar
Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Atapattu (captain), Harshita Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Neelakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wicketkeeper), Hasini Perera, Sugandhika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoshi Priyadarshini, Udeshika Prabodhani
Double dose of India vs Sri Lanka match-
India vs Sri Lanka- Women’s Asia Cup 2024 Final, from 3 pm
India vs Sri Lanka Men’s- 2nd T20, from 7 pm
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