Cricket is without a doubt India’s most popular sport. Whether in the men’s or women’s categories, the country has a long and illustrious history in the sport. The Indian women’s squad, like the men’s team, is a frequent performer in international tournaments and series. The Asia Cup began in 2004, and India has dominated the tournament since its inception, winning six consecutive Asia Cup championships till 2016. Finally, in the 2018 finals, Bangladesh defeated them and won their first Asia Cup title.
In this year’s Asia Cup, India has taken back the championship where it belongs, defeating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets. The stakes were high in all betting sites in India during the final match, and India emerged victorious after a total domination over Sri Lanka on the pitch. Due to the outstanding bowling performance of Harmanpreet Kaur’s India women’s team, Sri Lanka was restricted to just 65 runs and had little chance to retaliate while bowling in the 2nd innings.
A Dissection of the Final match in Sylhet International Stadium
The pitch at Sylhet International Stadium was batting-friendly, therefore Sri Lanka elected to bat first after winning the toss. Sri Lanka had made cautious and steady progress with a boundary in the first two overs. However, in the third over, captain Chamari Athapathu was run out, and Sri Lanka lost their first wicket with only 8 runs on the board.
Three of Sri Lanka’s four important wickets fell in the fourth over, with Harshitha Samarawickrama 1(5), Hasini Perera 0(1), and Anushka Sanjeewani 2(4) after a runout. Before the powerplay ended, in the 5th over Sri Lanka lost another wicket, and eventually, Nilakshi De Silva was out 6(8) and on the 8th over Malsha Shehani was out with a duck 0(5).
Oshadhi Ranasinghe, the highest scorer in the team, was out on 13(20). Afterward, Sugandika Kumari was the one to bite the dust on 6(24) in the 15th over, and Sri Lanka’s score ended up being 43-9. The last two players Achini Kulasuriya and Inoka Ranaweera had a 22-runs partnership and scored 11 runs in the last over.
On the other hand, India had a very easy target of 66 runs in 20 overs and came to bat with their openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma. Due to Mandhana aggressive batting India had a good start and the first partnership gave them 32 runs in 3.3 overs before Shafali Varma was out on 5(8).
Then in the next over Jemimah Rodriguez was dismissed for 2(4) and India’s score stood at 35-2 in 4.3 overs. India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur came to the crease and scored an unbeaten 11(14) along with Smriti Mandhana 51(25) and ensured India’s victory.
Asia’s Crown and Effects on The Upcoming Major Tournament
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Asia Cup was postponed in the 2020 season and later resumed in 2022, after a four-year hiatus. The T20 World Cup 2023 will be held in South Africa beginning on February 10th, 2023. Winning the Asia Cup will strengthen India’s morale ahead of the World Cup. Other Asian teams, on the other hand, can gain from this battle in terms of their future endeavors.
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