IND-W v SL-W Asia Cup 2022: Smriti Mandhana, Renuka Thakur likely to lead India to victory against Sri Lanka

New Delhi: Carrying the ODI form from England, the Indian team will look out to get a fine start to their Asia Cup campaign. With Jemimah Rodrigues back in the squad and players stepping up to their roles, the Indian team looks to be the tournament favourite. Meanwhile, Chamari Athapaththu and the company will look out to give their best, especially in the bowling department to get an edge.

The match will be played in Sylhet at 1:00 pm IST and with less or no dew, it would be an interesting battle between two strong tournament teams.

Harmanpreet Kaur & co to enter as favourites

With Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur playing in tremendous form, the Indian batting lineup looks balanced. Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Pooja Vastrakar are expected to provide the firepower in the lower-middle order. But it is not a cakewalk for the Indian batters as opener Shafali Verma seemed to be out of touch in the last few games, while Dayalan Hemalatha and Sabbineni Meghana have made no significant impact recently. Jemimah is expected to replace Hamalatha, but it is the right time for Shafali and Meghana to bring back their form.

Renuka Thakur is playing at some other level where 4-wicket hauls look too easy for her. With Meghna Singh and Thakur, India’s new ball services look to be in safe hands. Meanwhile, the pitch is expected to offer some spin and Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad will be the players to look out for.

Chamari Athapaththu is the key for Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan batting lineup depends on captain Athapaththu, who is currently ranked eighth in the world. The strike rate will be an issue for the team as not everyone scores at a strike rate of 100 in the side. Spinners Oshadi Ranasinghe and Inoka Ranaweera are expected to step up and show their experience against India. A thing that works in favour of  Sri Lanka, which has also helped India, is the presence of all-rounders.

Conclusion

While India looks to be the dominant side, Sri Lanka can turn fortunes like in the third T20I played against the women in blue this year. India is likely to go for the win, despite some issues in the batting order and Sri Lanka will look out to play better than they did in the Commonwealth Games 2022.