Sports
India favourites, but don’t count out Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
The Asia Cup has become essential in women’s cricket.Yes, there is no Naagin dance. The India-Pakistan rivalry is not feisty here. India have been the powerhouse, winning three out of four T20 versions and all four 50-over editions.
From the lens of the bigger teams – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – the tournament is an opportunity to rectify their past errors, zero in on the right combination, shake off some rustiness, and finalise the squad before the T20 World Cup in October. But when the lens is tilted a bit, the tournament’s higher purpose has been to give exposure and structure to associate teams – UAE, Thailand, Malaysia and Nepal – that do not play against the top-ranked sides often.
A lot has changed in the last two decades since the tournament’s inception, and with that, its purpose too.
Twenty years ago, only India and Sri Lanka took part and played five ODIs against each other to decide the winner. In 2005-06, Karachi hosted the event and Pakistan made their maiden appearance. The fourth edition, in 2008, saw Bangladesh as a new entrant.
Four years later, it was decided that the Asia Cup would be conducted in the T20 format, serving as a preparatory tournament for the women’s T20 World Cup. In 2012, the tournament also grew bigger as an eight-team event and welcomed Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Nepal for the first time, in Guangzhou. It was all India winning the tournament till 2016 before Bangladesh shocked the then six-time champions for a maiden title in the 2018 event in Malaysia.
Returning after the pandemic break, the 2022 edition witnessed seven teams vying for the trophy. One of the highlights from the last edition was Thailand pulling off a stunning upset win over Pakistan.
This year, the event has expanded to eight teams.
The route to the Asia Cup 2024 was not easy either – 16 Associate teams fought in the ACC Premier Cup for four spots and Thailand, Malaysia, UAE and Nepal – the four semi-finalists – advanced to the main draw of the Asia Cup. Over the years, the likes of Thailand and Malaysia have taken strides in women’s cricket while UAE, too, have shown a glimpse into their future, first clinching the Premier Cup in February and then coming close to beating Sri Lanka in the World Cup Qualifier.
When the tournament kicks off in Sri Lanka today , India once again begin as favourites. But irrespective of results, the Asia Cup offers hope for women’s cricket, especially the Associate sides, who try and inspire others.
India are coming into the tournament on the back of a drawn 1-1 T20I series against South Africa at home and a 5-0 win against Bangladesh in Sylhet. The two series have given the defending champions several positives: their vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is in excellent form, their spin department looks sorted and Pooja Vastrakar has stepped up as the pace-bowling mainstay.
Pakistan, their opponent on July 19, have not had a consistent run since Nida Dar took over the captaincy after Bismah Mahroof quit the role in 2023. Of the 19 T20Is played since April 2023, they have won only seven. They completed their first T20I series sweep against South Africa last September but lost 2-1 to Bangladesh next. Pakistan toured New Zealand in December and beat them 2-1. However, they have lost seven of eight matches this year, which includes a 4-1 defeat to West Indies in Karachi and a 0-3 loss in England. This is largely due to their struggles with the bat. They bank heavily on Sidra Amin and Muneeba Ali – their top two run-getters this year – to do the bulk of damage.
Like Pakistan, Bangladesh have also found the going tough with the bat. Nigar Sultana, their captain, holds the side together on the field and with the willow. That only Dilara Akter in the top six has a strike rate over 100 this year also suggests of their slow batting approach. In helpful conditions, Bangladesh’s spinners are capable of exerting pressure. Bringing back the experienced pair of allrounder Rumana Ahmed and fast bowler Jahanara Alam after more than a year provides them with some hope, having lost all eight matches this year.
That apart, hosts Sri Lanka also head into the tournament as a strong contender. They have won nine of their 12 matches this year and no longer just depend on captain Chamari Athapaththu to deliver. There have been handy contributions from Vishmi Gunaratne, the second-highest run-getter for Sri Lanka this year with 324 runs in 12 innings. The team has also benefitted from Kavisha Dilhari’s all-round ability – she has 145 runs at a strike rate of 136.79 and 12 wickets from 11 matches with her offbreaks.
(Cricinfo)
There was the odd hiccup or two. Glenn Phillips bowling the 18th over and giving up 27 runs. James Neesham turning a leg bye into an all-run four with an overthrow. But in the end, New Zealand wrapped up the win that was expected of them against UAE – with all ten wickets and 27 balls to spare – and look in good shape to make the Super Eights.
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert knocked off the entire target of 174 by themselves. In the course of doing that, they recorded the highest partnership for any wicket, by any side, in the T20 World Cup.
An even-paced pitch and its location on the square – making one side of the ground smaller than the other – resulted in the batters really enjoying themselves.
Muhammad Waseem and Alishan Sharafu are the most accomplished players in the UAE line-up and they stepped up – together – to put on a 107-run partnership. It is their second highest for the second wicket in T20Is.
The logic behind their strokeplay really stood out. Sharafu (55 off 47) backed away against Mitchell Santner and carved him over cover point for four. That shot was about getting the odds in his favour – hitting with the turn and to the short boundary. Waseem (66 off 45) backed his upper cut off Matt Henry’s slower bouncer because short third was inside the circle. It was high-percentage cricket in a high-pressure situation.ll
New Zealand’s bowlers had a really tough time against India in the bilateral series leading up to this World Cup. Huffing and puffing against UAE, who had crumbled to 81 all out in a warm-up game in Chennai against Italy, isn’t the kind of confidence boost they’re in need of
Phillips bowling in the death was odd. The four overs leading up to it had brought only 17 runs and two wickets. This one over alone yielded 27, including a wide, a no-ball four and a free-hit six. All while frontline quick Jacob Duffy had two overs left.
Alle and Seifert knocked off almost half the target in the powerplay itself. The 78 runs they put on together included nine fours and four sixes, which amount to a balls per boundary ratio of 2.77. This is a strength Santner had alluded to in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Afghanistan game, and it came good to take New Zealand to a 2-0 record in the group of death.
Allen showed game awareness when he played out UAE’s pinpoint accurate spin bowler, Haider Ali, and took down their quicks with ease instead. He had tried to do too much against Mujeeb Ur Rahman and lost his stumps during their previous match against Afghanistan. Here, even when Haider tempted him with mid-off up, he held back his big shots.
Seifert backed up his 39-ball fifty on Sunday with a 23-ball fifty today, continuing his path to becoming a high-volume batter instead of his previous version, where he was a high-variance batter. He didn’t have any trouble taking on Haider as the game neared its conclusion, reverse-hitting him for a six and then a four. New Zealand’s bash brothers were in full flow so the chase didn’t last beyond the 16th over.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 175 for 0 in 15.2 overs (Tim Seifert 89*, Finn Allen 84*) beat United Arab Emirates 173 for 6 in 20 overs (Mohamed Waseem 66, Alishan Sharafu 55, Mayanak Kumar 21; Matt Henry 2-37, Jacob Duffy 1-16, Lockie Ferguson 1-35, Mitchell Santner 1-23, Glenn Phillips 1-30) by ten wickets
(Cricinfo)
Bas de Leede put on an impressive all-round show to help Netherlands beat Namibia by seven wickets.
Asked to bat first, Namibia put on 156 for 8 despite a lot of big-hitters getting starts but not carrying on. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton was their top-scorer with 42, and Namibia couldn’t quite get into a strong position. The result meant Netherlands have got their campaign back on track after the heartbreak against Pakistan.
Scott Edwards brought de Leede on for two spells, and on both occasions, the medium pacer gave his captain breakthroughs. He removed Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus just when he had started to strike the ball cleanly, while JJ Smit also fell to de Leede when he was starting to look dangerous.
When he went out with the bat, de Leede initially let Michael Levitt take more of the strike, before recalibrating to enforcer mode. He added 70 runs for the third wicket with Colin Ackermann, hammering seven boundaries, including three sixes in his innings. All the way to Netherlands’ win.
Before the de Leede show with the bat, Levitt got Netherlands off to a flyer, with a six off Bernard Scholtz in the first over of the chase. He didn’t blink after losing opening partner Max O’Dowd in the third over, smashing Scholtz for a four later in the same over. And when Smit was brought into the attack, Levitt put him away over the midwicket boundary for another six.
De Leede joined in the fun, hammering Max Heingo for a 90m six over long-on, followed by Levitt flicking Ruben Trumpelmann for his third six. But that was all for the big-hitting opener, as he fell to the left-arm quick later in the same over. Levitt, though, had done the job in the powerplay.
In the first half, the Netherlands bowlers never quite allowed the Namibia batters to settle into a rhythm. No sooner had Jan Frylinck started to hit the ball freely in his 50-run second-wicket stand with Loftie-Eaton, than van Beek removed him with a cutter that took a thin inside edge through to the keeper.
Namibia captain Erasmus too fell after a big over, when de Leede had him caught at midwicket for 18 off nine balls. De Leede also removed Smit after the batter had taken on Timm van der Gugten in the 15th over. Attempting a late cut, Smit was bowled for 22 off 15 balls, again forcing Namibia to slow down in the last three-and-a-hald overs.
Trumplemann’s needless run out shortly after hitting a six in the 19th over was another instance of a Namibia batter falling immediately after gathering a bit of momentum.
Sri Lanka allrounder Wanidu Hasaranga has been ruled out of the 2026 T20 World Cup with a hamstring injury he suffered during their opening game aga8nst Ireland in Colombo on Sunday.
Although he completed his spell, taking 3 for 25 in four overs to derail Ireland’s spirited chase of 164, Hasaranga had an MRI scan on Monday that revealed a serious tear in his left hamstring. The report was seen by a specialist in the UK before he was ruled out on Tuesday.
The tear is understood to be related to a previous hamstring injury, though it is not a recurrence exactly. Hasaranga has battled injury for several years now, including a foot complaint
The ICC is yet to approve a replacement but Hasaranga is likely to be replaced in the squad by fellow legspin-bowling allrounder Dushan Hemantha. Although Hemantha, 31, brings roughly the same skillset, he has had only sporadic opportunities at the top level. He has played three T20Is, and has taken four wickets in those matches, with an economy rate of 7.85. Sri Lanka may also drop him straight into the XI – aside from the spinners who played on Sunday, there are no spinners in reserve in the squad.
Hasaranga’s loss is a substantial blow to Sri Lanka’s campaign nevertheless. He is the team’s most accomplished bowler in this format, and has been outstanding with the ball at T20 World Cups, taking 40 wickets and maintaining an economy rate of 6.01 across 20 innings.
Sri Lanka’s second group game is against Oman on February 12 in Pallekele, followed by Australia on February 16 in Pallekele, and finally Zimbabwe in Colombo (RPS) on February 19.
(Cricinfo)
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