Naman Garg
India managed to get their 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup campaign on track by beating arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets. They had started off with a 58-run loss to New Zealand though and this means that even a single defeat could make matters quite hard for them in terms of qualification to the semi-finals.
With India set to face the mighty defending champions Australia in their last Group A match. SL have had a worst time of it than India. They came into the tournament in high spirits, having won their maiden Asia Cup title by beating perpetual winners India in the final. However, they have lost both opening games they have played thus far in the UAE. The tournament started with a 31-run loss to lower-ranked Pakistan in their opening game and it was followed by a six-wicket defeat to Australia. India have a dominant record against SL, as is the case with almost all Asian teams. They lead the head-to-head 19-5, with both sides having faced each other for the first time in the format at the 2009 Women’s T20 WC. However, the latest of those victories for SL came in the last match between the two sides, which was in the final of the Women’s Asia Cup in July this year. India had lost that match by a stunning eight wickets as Sri Lanka ended their reign in the tournament.
The Dubai track has proven to be a rather slow and low one with batters tending to struggle with stroke-making. The game will be played in the evening and dew hasn’t been much of a factor thus far in the tournament. It means that the toss winning captain may decide to bowl or bat almost exclusively on the basis of whether they feel comfortable setting a score or chasing. Spinners from both sides will can utilise assistance from Dubai pitch because the track has aided spin bowling and batters could find it tough to go after them. India need to improve their batting in the upcoming match because in this world cup their batting is very pathetic and intentless till now which builds pressure on whole team. They need to play with free mindset and if the mindset doesn’t change then struggling Sri Lanka can also challenge Indian women team. Harmanpreet Kaur is expected to be available for them after her neck injury is recovered which was happened against Pakistan, thus enhancing their chances. Indian women team also have to keep net run rate in their mind while playing Sri lankan women to keep their chances alive for the spot of semi final qualification. The match will start at 7:30 pm according to Indian standard time.
India women squad: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Sajeevan Sajana, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Dayalan Hemalatha, Yastika Bhatia
Sri Lanka women squad: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera, Ama Kanchana, Achini Kulasuriya, Sachini Nisansala, Shashini Gimhani.
