Best playing 11 of Women's Asia Cup 2024 ft. Chamari Athapaththu, Renuka Singh
Sri Lanka Women stunned India Women by eight wickets in the final of the Women Asia Cup 2024 to lift the title for the first time. In an unexpectedly one-sided encounter played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday, July 28, hosts Sri Lanka beat seven-time champions India by virtue of a competent effort with the ball followed up by a brilliant show with the bat.
Batting first after winning the toss, India Women put up 165-6 on the board. Shafali Verma (16), Uma Chetry (9) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (11) fell cheaply. However, senior opener Smriti Mandhana held the innings together with 60 off 47, while Jemimah Rodrigues (29 off 16) and Richa Ghosh (30 off 14) contributed fine cameos to lift the Women in Blue.
Sri Lanka Women, however, were completely dominant in the chase and cruised home in 18.4 overs. Vishmi Gunaratne was run out for 1. However, skipper Chamari Athapaththu (61 off 43), Harshitha Samarawickrama (69* off 51) and Kavisha Dilhari (30* off 16) combined to take the hosts to Asia Cup glory.
Following the conclusion of the tournament, we put together the best playing XI of the Women's Asia Cup 2024.
Openers: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Smriti Mandhana
Sri Lankan captain Athapaththu, who had an outstanding Women's Asia Cup 2024, would also lead the combined XI. She would open the batting with Team India's experienced left-hander Mandhana.
Athapaththu finished as the leading run-getter in the tournament, scoring 304 runs in five innings at an average of 101.33 and a strike rate of 146.85, with one hundred and two fifties. She also chipped in with three wickets with her off-break and was easy choice for Player of the Tournament.
The 34-year-old hammered 119* against Malaysia, becoming the first batter to cross three figures in the Women's Asia Cup. She followed it up with impressive scores of 49* against Thailand, 63 in the semifinal against Pakistan and 61 in the final against India.
Mandhana finished the 2024 Women's Asia Cup with 173 runs in four innings at an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 137.30. The 28-year-old seasoned campaigner scored 45 against Pakistan in the group stage before contributing 55* in the semifinal against Bangladesh and a defiant 60 in the final against Sri Lanka.
Middle-order & All-rounders: Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nigar Sultana, Richa Ghosh (wk) and Deepti Sharma
Sri Lanka's Samarawickrama was poor in the field, but more than made up for it with her impressive batting. The left-handed batter scored 140 runs in four innings at an average of 46.66 and a strike rate of 118.64. The 26-year-old chipped in with 33 and 26 against Bangladesh and Malaysia in the group stage. However, she reserved her best for the last, smashing an unbeaten 69 in the final against India.
Sri Lankan all-rounder Dilhari also features in the combined Women's Asia Cup XI. She finished as the second-leading wicket taker in the tournament, picking up nine wickets in five innings at an average of 12.33 and an economy rate of 6.16. She claimed two-fers in four consecutive matches, including the semifinal and the final. The 23-year-old also hammered a quick-fire 30* in the final.
Bangladesh's Nigar Sultana and India's Ghosh feature as crucial components in the middle-order. Both are established keeper-batters, so either of the two can take the gloves. Sultana contributed 142 runs in three innings and was dismissed only one. The Bangladesh skipper contributed 48* against Sri Lanka, 62* versus Thailand and was dismissed for 32 in the semifinal against India.
Ghosh slammed 100 runs in three innings at an excellent strike rate of 217.39. The right-handed batter slammed 64* off 29 against United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 30 off 14 in the final, with the aid of four fours and a six.
India's Deepti Sharma features as the key all-rounder in the combined Women's Asia Cup 2024 XI. While she did not have much to do with the willow in hand, the experienced off-spinner was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 10 wickets from five innings at an average of 10 and an economy rate of 5. The 26-year-old claimed 3-20 against Pakistan and 3-13 versus Nepal.
Bowlers: Sadia Iqbal, Renuka Singh, Rabeya Khan, Udeshika Prabodhani
India's Renuka Singh and Sri Lanka's Udeshika Prabodhani would be the pacers in the combined Women's Asia Cup 2024 XI, while Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal and Bangladesh's Rabeya Khan would be the slow bowlers.
Renuka claimed seven wickets in five innings at an average of 13.14 and an economy rate of 4.84. The right-arm pacer claimed 2-14 against Pakistan and was Player of the Match for her 3-10 against Bangladesh in the semifinal.
Sri Lanka's left-arm pacer Prabodhani picked up five wickets in four innings at an average of 16.60 and an economy rate of 5.92. The 38-year-old picked up 2-20 against Bangladesh and 2-23 against Pakistan in the semifinal.
Pakistan's left-arm spinner Sadia claimed eight wickets in four innings at an average of 8.37 and an economy rate of 4.72. Sadia picked up two scalps each against Nepal and UAE before registering figures of 4-16 against second semifinal against Sri Lanka. The effort, though, came in a losing cause.
Bangladesh's leg-spinner Rabeya claimed five wickets in four innings in the Women's Asia Cup 2024 at an average of 10.80 and an economy rate of 4.50. She registered excellent figures of 4-14 against Thailand and picked up 1-10 in three overs against Malaysia.