India take on Sri Lanka in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup 2022 and for some the result is a foregone conclusion, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co will do well not to take their neighbours lightly. India have six Asia Cup titles and they are into their eighth straight final, but surprises have become a more regular feature recently than ever in the history of the tournament.
After six straight titles, India were beaten by Bangladesh in the 2018 finale. In the ongoing tournament, India suffered a stunning defeat to arch-rivals Pakistan. Arguably the biggest surprise came when Thailand beat Pakistan by 4 wickets in a final-over thriller. The message is loud and clear; don’t take any team lightly.
Meanwhile, India, after experimenting with their batting with an eye on the 2023 T20 World Cup, returned to their preferred batting lineup in the semi-finals against Thailand. They are expected to stick to the same playing XI in the final.
Players to score 200 runs in a single edition of the #AsiaCupT20@M_Raj03 in 2016@ImHarmanpreet in 2018@JemiRodrigues in 2022
Jemimah has been in a league of her own on some really challenging pitches.#AsiaCup #WomensAsiaCup
— Mohit Shah (@mohit_shah17) October 13, 2022
Shafali Verma, who had struggled for runs, is back in form with a fifty and two 40-plus scores in the tournament. No 3 batter Jemimah Rodrigues leads the scoring chart with 215 runs at a strike rate of 138. Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Pooja Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma add to India’s batting strength and Sri Lanka are well aware of this threat.
When they met in the tournament opener, India scored 150/6 with Rodrigues hitting 76 runs and Harmanpreet making 33. India won that match by 41 runs.
Deepti Sharma, with 13 wickets, has been the top bowler in the tournament but she has a strong support cast of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana and Radha Yadav.
VICTORY DANCE ft. Sri Lankan Women’s Cricket Team 😀
after they beat Pakistan to enter the Finals of Women’s Asia Cup 2022 🥳 #CricketTwitter #WomensAsiaCup2022 @ACCMedia1 @OfficialSLC pic.twitter.com/FklmDW2mCD
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 13, 2022
For Sri Lanka, all eyes will be on Harshitha Madavi who has scored 201 runs. While her strike rate could be better, the valuable runs have played a big role in making the island nation reach the summit clash. Left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera is another player who has done well for Sri Lanka in the 2022 Asia Cup. The veteran has also far scalped 12 wickets.
The biggest challenge for Sri Lanka is to score big runs and at a great pace. This an area where India have improved significantly in recent years but their Asian Counterparts still have a lot of work to do.
Women’s Asia Cup Final: India vs Sri Lanka on Saturday (15 October) at 1 PM IST at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Squads
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Sneh Rana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Radha Yadav, Kiran Navgire, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sabbhineni Meghana, Renuka Singh
Sri Lanka:Playing:Chamari Athapaththu (c), Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Harshitha Madavi, Madushika Methtananda, Hasini Perera, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Inoka Ranaweera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Kaushani Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Rashmi Silva, Tharika Sewwandi
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