India seeks Asian domination under Harmanpreet’s leadership at Women’s Asia Cup
The historic rivalry between India and Pakistan in cricket is about to resume at the Women’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, with India captain Harmanpreet Kaur focused on defending their title. India have won the tournament a record seven times and remain the team to beat.
However, Harmanpreet is aware that the gap between Asian teams is shrinking. At a pre-tournament press conference, she stressed the importance of “keeping doing the right things” that have led to past success. But maintaining consistency will be challenging against improving opponents.
When these sides last met in 2018, a gritty Pakistan performance saw them overcome India in a tight contest. Their recent encounters have also been fiercely competitive. India will hope for a positive start against their neighbours on Friday.
India’s preparations have featured a battling series against South Africa. Some areas for improvement were exposed, such as variablity from pace spearhead Renuka Singh. The middle order continues to be experimented with as well.
On a positive note, Smriti Mandhana provides a potent threat at the top of the order. She has enjoyed a rich run of form, including a match-winning century in the last Asia Cup final. Her prowess against spin will be vital on the slow subcontinent pitches.
While India are strongly fancied to defend their title on the back of experience, the competitive nature of Asian cricket continues growing. Success will depend on swiftly addressing lingering questions before April’s T20 World Cup in Australia. With an eye on further domination across the continent, Harmanpreet will expect no slip-ups in Sri Lanka.
