Women's Asia Cup final, IND vs SL: Preview and stats
India Women and Sri Lanka Women face each other in the final of the Women's Asia Cup T20 on Saturday. INDW topped the league stage earlier and then overcame Thailand Women in the semis. Sri Lanka Women stunned Pakistan Women in the other semi-final to book a berth for the summit clash. Here we present the complete match preview.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The surface at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will assist everyone. The side batting first will aim to post a significant total. The match will start at 1:00 PM (IST). One can watch the match live on the Star Sports Network and be streamed on Hotstar app (paid subscription). India had earlier beaten SLW in the league stage, winning by 41 runs.
India Women will hope to finish strongly
India Women did well in the league stage, winning five out of the six matches and topping the league. In the semis, India Women down Thailand Women by 74 runs. Jemimah Rodrigues has been in top form in the ongoing campaign. Shafali Verma has also found her rhythm. In terms of bowling, the onus will lie on Deepti Sharma, who is the leading wicket-taker.
SL Women can be a difficult prospect
Sri Lanka Women finished third in the league stage and then showed a lot of spirit and composure in beating Pakistan in the semis. In a low-scoring contest, SL held on for a one-run victory. Inoka Ranaweera made the difference for her side. She has bowled well throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, H Madavi has done well for Lanka with the bat.
A look at the top performers
Jemimah has scored 215 runs at an average of 71.66. She has two half-centuries under her belt. Madavi is the only other player to have amassed 200-plus runs (201) at 28.71. Shafali has done well, scoring 161 runs from five games at 32.20. With the ball, Deepti has claimed 13 scalps at 7.15. For Lanka, Ranaweera has claimed 12 scalps at just 8.66.
India Women aiming to claim a 7th Asia Cup crown
India Women have claimed six Asia Cup trophies so far, besides being a finalist in the previous edition. India have won four tournaments in the ODI version and two in the 20-over format. Meanwhile, SLW are aiming to claim their maiden Asia Cup. SLW have been four-time runners up (ODI). SLW reached the semis, besides finishing fourth and 3rd in the 20-over format.
