3 player battles to watch out for in India-Pakistan women's Asia Cup clash ft. Smriti Mandhana vs Nida Dar
The Women's Asia Cup will kick off with a thrilling match when defending champions India face off against arch-rivals Pakistan in a prime-time clash at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Friday, July 19. The tournament will see eight teams competing, who will want to strengthen their combinations ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India will be keen to maintain their dominance. They have won the T20 version of the Women's Asia Cup three out of four times and all four editions of the 50-overs format. They are also the most successful team in the Women's Asia Cup T20, boasting 17 wins in 20 matches, including a victory over Bangladesh in the 2022 final.
India's performance against Pakistan in T20s has been impressive, with 11 wins and three losses in 14 matches. Kaur's team will take confidence from the record and their recent form only further compliments them.
The Women in Blue enter the tournament following a 1-1 series draw against South Africa earlier this month, with the second match of the series being washed out. In contrast, Pakistan, having last played in May against England where they were defeated 3-0, lacks both game time and confidence.
On that note, here are three player battles to watch out for ahead of the highly-anticipated Women's Asia Cup fixture.
3 player battles to watch out for in India-Pakistan women's Asia Cup clash
#3 Deepti Sharma vs Sidra Amin
Deepti Sharma is one of the mainstays in the women's side. While she picked up just three wickets in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, it cannot be discounted that she is a prolific wicket-taker with 121 scalps from 112 WT20Is.
Sidra Amin holds the key to Pakistan's batting. She has been in top form this year in WT20Is. She has garnered 893 runs from 53 games. Pakistan will rely on her to come good with the bat.
With Deepti's ability to bind the batters in the middle and tighten things up, it will be interesting to see how Sidra takes her on in crucial phases of the game.
#2 Pooja Vastrakar vs Muneeba Ali
Pace bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar displayed top form with the ball in the South Africa series. She picked up eight wickets from three games and emerged as the leading wicket-taker as well.
Meanwhile, Munneba Ali has been an integral part of the Pakistan lineup. She carries experience and is someone the team often relies on to deliver with the bat. Muneeba has amassed 1046 runs from 66 WT20Is.
As she opens the batting for Pakistan, she will face a challenging task facing an in-form Pooja Vastrakar upfront in the powerplay. Muneeba will be under pressure to brave the storm and get her team off to a solid start.
#1 Smriti Mandhana vs Nida Dar
India's Smriti Mandhana has been in excellent form coming into this tournament. She scored 149 runs in a single innings of the only Test against South Africa, 343 runs with two hundreds in the ODIs, and 100 runs from two innings in the T20Is including an unbeaten fifty.
On the other hand, Nida Dar, Pakistan's skipper, is also their leading wicket-taker in the format. Her experience will certainly count apart from her off-spin, which has given her immense success with the ball.
Especially on Sri Lankan pitches, Nida could trouble Mandhana, who is known to have a weakness against off-spin. Mandhana will hold the key for India with the bat and will have to be sensible in her approach against Dar.