3 things to watch out for in India-Sri Lanka Women's Asia Cup 2024 final
The 8th edition of the Women’s Asia Cup has seen its fair share of drama and action as we have reached the final day. The Indian Women have been by far the best team in the tournament and have qualified for the final without dropping a game. Sri Lanka also remains the second unbeaten team having played a terrific brand of cricket.
India has won six out of the seven Asia Cups so far with Bangladesh winning the solitary one in 2018. It will be a massive opportunity for the Women in Blue to register another title win when they square off against Sri Lanka in the final at the Rangiri International Stadium in Dambulla on Sunday, July 28.
The Sri Lankans have punched above their weights on the back of a superlative performance by their skipper Chamari Athapaththu. She has led from the front and has scored the bulk of the runs for the Lankans which has resulted in their tremendous campaign so far.
However, they are well aware of the fact that it will be a different challenge against India who is by far the highest ranked team in the competition. They were absolutely ruthless against Bangladesh in the first semi final while Sri Lanka just about managed to get over the line against Pakistan.
With the finale slated to be played in about 12 hours time, let us have a look at three things to look out for in the match:
#1 The Indian opening combination
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana have been in the form of their life in the Asia Cup. They have complemented each other quite brilliantly and have scored the majority of the runs for India which has been the reason behind India’s dominance in the tournament.
Shafali Verma has started the carnage in the powerplay while Smriti Mandhana have continued the onslaught post-powerplay. Both these batters have been at their supreme best and their strokeplay has been of the supreme quality. Shafali has scored 184 runs while Mandhana has accumulated 113 runs and their partnership will definitely be one of the things to watch out for.
#2 The enigma of Chamari Athapaththu
The Sri Lankan skipper Athapaththu is the leading run-scorer of the tournament so far with 243 runs in 4 matches. She became the first-ever batter to score a century in T20 Asia Cups earlier during the tournament.
Athapathu might be at the twilight of her career but the amount of runs she is scoring now makes one believe she can still play for a considerable amount of time. Her muscular power is next to none in the Sri Lankan team and will be one of the most important players in the final.
#3 India's batting lineup vs the Sri Lankan bowling attack
While Sri Lanka’s player for all occasions has been their skipper Chamari Athapaththu but their bowling department certainly has some mettle and have restricted their opposition teams to manageable scores. The spin department looks strong with Inoshi Priyadarshani and Udeshika Prabodhani being superb in the powerplay.
Kavisha Dilhari was at the top of her game in the last two games while Achini Kulasuriya and Sugandika Kumari can be useful with their medium-pace bowling. Shashini Gimhani, the 15-year-old left-arm wrist spinner hasn't played in the last two games but given her exuberance and X factor, she could be included in the XI.
It will be interesting to see how the Indian team fares against this fairly strong Sri Lankan bowling attack.