The first edition of the Women’s Asia Cup was played in 2004 and has had eight seasons played to date. The ninth edition of the women’s Asia Cup is scheduled from the 19th to the 28th of July 2024, which will be played in Sri Lanka with a total of eight teams participating. The initial four editions of the women’s Asia Cup were played in the ODI format while the other four were played in the T20 format.
In this article, we go through a summary of each edition of the Women’s Asia Cup, tracing its evolution and memorable moments over the years.
2004 Women’s Asia Cup:
The inaugural edition of the Women’s Asia Cup was played in the ODI format at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground and Kandy Cricket Club in Sri Lanka, between India and the host nation. It took place from 17th to 29th April 2004 in a five-match bilateral format that India won, with five straight wins. Anjum Chopra was named the player of the series for her contributions throughout the tournament.
2005/06 Women’s Asia Cup:
Hosted by Pakistan, the second edition of the Women’s Asia Cup featured three teams: India, Sri Lanka, and the hosts Pakistan. The matches were played at the National Stadium Karachi and Karachi Gymkhana Ground from 28th December 2005 to 6th January 2006 in a round-robin format, with each team playing against each other twice. India topped the table, winning all four matches, with Sri Lanka finishing second with two wins and two losses, ending with nine points.
Final:
India and Sri Lanka played in the final. India elected to bat first at Karachi, posting a total of 269, thanks to a century from skipper Mithali Raj (108*), and opener Jaya Sharma’s 69. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Polgampola and skipper Shashikala Siriwardene scored 58 and 55, respectively, but the team lost by 72 runs. Devika Palshikar took three wickets for India, and Mithali Raj was named the player of the match for her unbeaten 108.
2006 Women’s Asia Cup:
The third edition, played in an ODI format, was hosted by India at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The tournament featured India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, with each team playing against each other twice. India finished at the top of the points table with 16 points, winning all four matches, while Sri Lanka finished second with two wins in four matches, earning eight points.
Final:
India and Sri Lanka faced off in the final. Sri Lanka batted first but were bowled out for a low score, with Jhulan Goswami, Rumeli Dhar, and Devika Palshikar taking two wickets each. India chased down the target comfortably, winning by eight wickets. Sunetra Paranjape was the player of the match with an unbeaten 35 and a wicket. Thirush Kamini was named the player of the series with 135 runs and eight wickets.
2008 Women’s Asia Cup:
The fourth edition saw the addition of Bangladesh and was played in an ODI format in Sri Lanka at the Welagedara Stadium and Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium from 2nd to 11th May 2008. Each team played against the other twice. India topped the table with six wins, earning 28 points, while Sri Lanka finished second with four wins and two losses, earning 20 points.
Final:
India and Sri Lanka met in the final for the third consecutive time. India elected to bat first and scored 260, with Asha Rawat scoring 97 and Mithali Raj 66. Sri Lanka’s Shashikala Siriwardene took four wickets. However, Sri Lanka’s batting faltered, and they were all out for 83, with Neetu David and Seema Pujare taking three wickets each. India won by 177 runs, with Asha Rawat named the player of the match. Rumeli Dhar was the player of the series with 238 runs and eight wickets.
2012 Women’s Asia Cup:
The fifth edition, the first to be played in the T20 format, was held in China from 24th to 31st October 2012. Eight teams participated, with matches played at the Guangdong International Cricket Stadium. Teams were divided into two groups, with the top two from each group progressing to the knockout stage. Group A consisted of Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Hong Kong, while Group B included Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and China. India and Pakistan advanced to the knockouts from Group A, and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from Group B.
Semi-Finals:
The first semi-final between India and Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain, with India proceeding to the final based on points. In the second semi-final, Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to 82 runs and chased it down comfortably, winning by six wickets. Nida Dar was the player of the match for her all-round performance.
Final:
In their first Asia Cup final, Pakistan faced the dominant Indian team. India batted first but were bowled out for 81, with Sana Mir taking four wickets. Pakistan’s chase started poorly, and they were bowled out for 63, losing by 18 runs. Punam Raut was the player of the match for her 25 runs, while Bismah Maroof was the player of the series with 113 runs and five wickets.
2016 Women’s Asia Cup:
The sixth edition was held in Thailand from 26th November to 4th December, played at the Asian Institute of Technology Ground and the Terdthai Cricket Ground. Six teams participated in a round-robin format. India topped the points table with 10 points, while Pakistan finished second with 8 points. Both teams advanced to the final.
Final:
India elected to bat first and posted 121, thanks to Mithali Raj’s 73. Pakistan’s batting struggled, and they could only manage 104 for six in 20 overs. Ekta Bisht took two wickets for India. Mithali Raj was the player of the match and the series with 220 runs. India won their sixth Asia Cup title.
2018 Women’s Asia Cup:
The seventh edition was hosted by Malaysia from 3rd to 10th June 2018, with all matches played in Kuala Lumpur. Six teams participated in a round-robin format. For the first time, India lost a match in the Asia Cup, defeated by Bangladesh. Both India and Bangladesh finished with 8 points, with India topping the table based on net run rate.
Final:
In their first Asia Cup final, Bangladesh faced India. India batted first and scored 112, with Harmanpreet Kaur scoring 56. Bangladesh chased down the target, needing 2 runs off the last ball. Rumana Ahmed was the player of the match for her 23 runs and 2 wickets. Harmanpreet Kaur was the player of the series with 215 runs and five wickets. Bangladesh won their maiden Asia Cup title.
2022 Women’s Asia Cup:
The eighth edition, held in Bangladesh, saw seven teams participating from 1st to 15th October 2022 in Sylhet. The tournament followed a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the knockouts. India finished first in the points table with 10 points, followed by Pakistan with 10 points and Sri Lanka with 8 points. Thailand finished fourth with 6 points.
Semi-Finals:
In the first semi-final, India faced Thailand and posted 148, thanks to Shafali Verma’s 42 and Harmanpreet Kaur’s 36. Thailand was restricted to 74 for 9, with Deepti Sharma taking 3 for 7. Shafali Verma was the player of the match. In the second semi-final, Sri Lanka posted 122 against Pakistan. Pakistan’s chase fell short by one run, with Inoka Ranaweera taking two wickets and being named the player of the match.
Final:
Sri Lanka, playing their first T20 Asia Cup final, elected to bat but were restricted to 65 for 9 in 20 overs. Renuka Singh took 3 for 5, supported by Rajeshwari Gaikwad and Sneh Rana with two wickets each. India chased the target comfortably, with Smriti Mandhana scoring an unbeaten 51 off 25 balls. Renuka Singh was the player of the match, while Deepti Sharma was the player of the series with 94 runs and 13 wickets. India secured their seventh Asia Cup title in eight editions.