Hello and welcome to the coverage of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup match between India and Hong Kong at the Dubai International Stadium.
India will look to tighten their batting when they take on Hong Kong in their second match of the tournament.
The seven-time champions made a winning start against Thailand, but were left to rue the dramatic collapse. India were cruising at 101 for two after 10 overs and looked set for a total of over 200. Instead, they lost seven wickets for 29 runs to finish on 159.
The collapse did not hurt India when it beat Thailand by 94 points, but it revealed a weakness that could prove costly against stronger opponents. The match against Hong Kong gives them a chance to fix these shortcomings before their Group A clash with Pakistan.
Shafali Verma was the standout batsman, smashing 64, while Deepti Sharma underscored her worth with three wickets without conceding a run. Her numbers also took her to the top of the women’s T20I wicket-takers list.
Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, who replaced the injured Jemima Rodriguez, will be keen to turn their promising starts into big results. Meanwhile, captain Harmanpreet Kaur needs a run to answer questions regarding her form and place in the T20 team.
India also wants to build momentum ahead of the Asian Games in Japan. That will be especially important after their disappointing T20 World Cup campaign.
Hong Kong lost its opening match to Thailand by six innings. They chased down 121, finishing 114 for seven. However, the bowlers showed a lot of fight, led by spinner Marina Lamplugh, who returned impressive figures of 11/4.
Lamplugh will face a big test against India’s powerful system. The all-around experienced Carrie Chan will also be crucial. She hit 28 off 20 fastballs against Thailand and is expected to stabilize Hong Kong’s middle order.
For India, the challenge is simple: win comfortably, but use the game to improve their batting before the bigger Tests arrive.
difference:
India: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Bharti Phulmali, Richa Ghosh (wicket-keeper), Gunalan Kamalini (wicket-keeper), Pratika Rawal, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Goud, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Nandani Sharma, Shri Charani, Radha. Yadav.
Hong Kong: Mariko Hill, Yasmin Daswani (wicket-keeper), Maryam Bibi (captain), Marina Lamplugh, Carrie Chan, Shanzin Shahzad, Joelyn Kaur, Shing Chan Dorothea, Alison Siu, Charlotte Chan, Ruchitha Venkatesh, Natasha Miles, Iqra Sahar, Kaur Mahikdeep, Hailey Wong.
