Smriti Mandhana assumed leadership of the India women’s cricket team for their opening match against Malaysia at the Asian Games in place of regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
At the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou, where the game was played, India played brilliantly, amassing a tremendous total of 173 runs in only 15 overs. Ordinary Malaysian fielding and a lackluster bowling assault both contributed to India’s victory.
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana’s initial collaboration was efficient and successful. Mandhana failed to score after making just 27 off of 16, while Verma kept up her amazing performance and scored 67 off of just 39. In just 29 balls, Jemimah Rodrigues contributed 47 runs to the team’s total, demonstrating her strong play. Richa Ghosh’s spectacular cameo, in which she scored 21 runs off just seven balls, marked the end of the innings.
Unfortunately, a rain break occurred in the middle of an inning, cutting the number of overs to 15. Rain began to fall severely as the second inning got underway, and only two deliveries were bowled before the game was called off. Due to their great first innings performance and higher seeding than Malaysia, India made it to the semi-finals. On September 24, the Indian women’s team will face the winner of the match between Bangladesh and Hong Kong, which is set for September 22.
Additionally, the Pakistani team’s opening match of the competition versus Indonesia Women was scheduled for Quarter Final 2. But the weather forced the cancellation of this game as well. Due to their superior seeding than their competitors, the Pakistani team was able to advance to the semifinals despite the postponement. The victor of the match between Sri Lanka and Thailand on September 22 will play Pakistan in the second semifinal on September 24.
The Indian Men’s Team will also compete in the competition:
Starting on September 27, 15 teams will compete in the men’s event for the top medal. Based on their ICC rankings, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have already guaranteed their places in the quarterfinals. Only the group winners will advance to the next round of the competition, with the remaining 11 teams competing for the remaining four slots in the quarterfinals.
India
