Women’s T20 Asia Cup: UAE vs Nepal | Head-to-Head | Squads | Players to watch | Pitch | Weather | Live streaming

The ninth edition of the Women’s Asia Cup will kick start from July 19 in Sri Lanka. A total of eight teams will take part in this competition. The teams are divided into two groups.

Group A: UAE, Nepal, India, Pakistan

Group B: Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia

The first match of this edition of the Women’s Asia Cup will be played between UAE and Nepal on Friday at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

 

Head-to-Head

Playing against each other, UAE have won one and Nepal have won two.

 

Squads

UAE: Esha Oza (C), Kavisha Kumari, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Lavanya Keny, Emily Thomas, Heena Harish Hotchandani, Mehak Thakur, Indhuja Nandakumar, Rinitha Rajith, Khushi Mohan Sharma, Rishitha Rajith, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish, Vaishnave Mahesh.

Nepal: Indu Barma (C), Kajol Shrestha, Rubina Chettri, Sabnam Rai, Sita Rana Magar, Rajmati Airee, Puja Mahato, Bindu Rawal, Roma Thapa, Mamta Chaudhary, Kabita Joshi, Kabita Kunwar, Dolly Bhatta, Kritika Marasini, Samjhana Khadka

 

Players to watch out

Esha Oza: The captain of the UAE has been one of the most prolific batters for the team in the recent past. In her last 10 T20Is, the 26-year-old right-handed opening batter has scored 402 runs at a healthy average of 57 and strike rate of 122. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup Qualifiers, she was the second highest run scorer in the tournament with 189 runs in five innings.

Vaishnave Mahesh: The wily leg spinner from UAE has 82 wickets in 63 T20I innings and is the most successful bowler for her team. She bowls at an economy of 4.7 and has a strike rate of 15. The 17-year-old is a child prodigy having made her international debut at the age of just 12.

Rubina Chhetry: She is the only batter from Nepal to score a century in women’s T20I cricket. This right-handed middle order batter achieved the feat in February 2024 against Malaysia in the Asian Cricket Council’s Women’s Premier Cup. In 46 T20I innings, she has mustered 741 runs at an average of 25. Besides her batting, she is a handy right-arm medium pacer and has 42 wickets in 53 innings.

Puja Mahato: The 18-year-old right-arm medium pacer of Nepal has made a good start to her international career. Having made her debut in 2023, she has featured in 17 T20Is and picked 16 wickets at an economy of 3.6. With the bat, she has 151 runs in 11 innings, including the best of 59 not out.

 

Pitch

The venue has hosted three women’s T20Is with all of them being played in 2022. The teams batting second have won two of the three matches. The highest total scored here is 141 and the lowest is 104. The conditions could be favourable for batting as a fresh pitch is expected to be used for this tournament.

 

Weather

The weather could be cloudy (100% cloud cover) and breezy. There could be a thunderstorm in some parts of the area. There is a 40% chance of rain. The temperature could reach a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius.

 

Match details

Date: July 19, 2024

Time: 2:00 PM IST

Venue: Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla

Live streaming: Disney + Hotstar, Star Sports