Match details
India vs Sri Lanka, Women’s T20 Asia Cup final
Dambulla, July 27, 3pm local time
Big Picture: India and Sri Lanka neck and neck
For India, clinching an Asia Cup might seem like a mile marker on the road to bigger things – the T20 World Cup is coming up in October. But for Sri Lanka, a win on Sunday could have far-reaching effects. It could inspire more girls to pick up cricket. It could form the basis of a pay rise or kick off a conversation about a women’s T20 league. The first win is always special. But is it coming home, Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWW
In the spotlight: Chamari Athapaththu and Smriti Mandhana
Team news: Full-strength XIs on the cards
Athapaththu had strapping on her right arm, but she was good to play through any pain on Friday. Sri Lanka opener Gunaratne had limped off the field against Pakistan in the first innings but came out to bat during the chase.
Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Vishmi Gunaratne, 2 Chamari Athapaththu (capt), 3 Harshitha Samarawickrama, 4 Hasini Perera, 5 Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), 6 Kavisha Dilhari, 7 Nilakshika Silva, 8 Inoshi Priyadharshani, 9 Udeshika Prabodhani, 10 Sugandika Kumari, 11 Achini Kulasuriya
The young keeper-batter Uma Chetry replaced D Hemalatha at No. 3, in India’s semi-final against Bangladesh. Chetry didn’t get a chance to bat on Friday with the openers chasing down the target comfortably. They are likely to hand Chetry another opportunity with Hemalatha failing to notch an impactful innings in the last few months.
India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Uma Chetry, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Pooja Vastrakar, 9 Radha Yadav, 10 Tanuja Kanwar, 11 Renuka Singh
Pitch and conditions: Runs galore
The weather looks clear for Sunday. Friday’s day game had some cloud cover, which was nice for the players but if that isn’t the case, it could be humid to start. The Dambulla track is expected to be batting-friendly.
