Finally, the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 is arrived! It’s bigger than ever before, with eight teams competing for the championship. This year, a few squads have extra motivation to perform well. With the T20 World Cup just two and a half months away, this grand tournament will serve as a final step in finalizing squads for the four teams that will compete – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The Asia Cup event runs from July 19 to 28, and all matches take place in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. There will be a total of 15 games: 12 group games, two semi-finals, and one final. The group-stage games are set to be played from July 19 to July 24, with two games per day. The two semi-finals are set to be played on July 26 and the final on July 28.
Nepal’s Return to the Asia Cup
The most significant difference is that the competition will have eight teams this year, one more than in the previous edition. So, unlike the previous year, when all of the teams competed once before the semi-finals, the teams have been divided into two groups this season.
India, Nepal, Pakistan, and the UAE make up Group A. While Asia Cup hosts Sri Lanka is in Group B with Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand. Each team in the group will play one another once, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. The competition was enlarged to seven teams in 2022, and another team was added this year. Nepal!
Is it their first time participating in the tournament? No, but it’s their first time since 2016. They qualified since they were semi-finalists in the Women’s Premier Asia Cup 2024. Which took place in February of this year. The UAE, Malaysia, and Thailand were the other three teams to advance from that competition. The Premier Cup included 16 teams. Nepal, UAE, Malaysia, and Thailand advanced to the semifinals. While Thailand lost to the UAE in the semi-finals by four runs, Malaysia overcame Nepal by four wickets in the second semi-final to advance to the final.
The UAE then defeated Malaysia by 37 runs to win the Premier Cup. But all four of those teams qualified for the Asia Cup. Harmanpreet Kaur continues to lead India, while Chamari Athapaththu leads Sri Lanka, Nigar Sultana leads Bangladesh, and Winifred Duraisingam leads Malaysia. However, there are changes. With Bismah Maroof’s retirement, Nida Dar will captain Pakistan. Thailand’s regular captain, Naruemol Chaiwai, is out with an injury for the 2022 event, thus Thipatcha Putthawong, 20, is filling in. The UAE will be led by 26-year-old hitter Esha Oza.
Tournament Favorites and Key Competitors
https://gty.im/2163011671
It is difficult to look past India, the region’s dominant team. They are the defending champions, having won the award the most times: seven. The only other team to have won the title is Bangladesh in 2018. And they could be India’s toughest opponents this time around. Sri Lanka has shown decent T20I form over the last year or two and can compete with the other teams, especially if Athapaththu continues her remarkable run of form. The competition will feature an all-female match officials team, as it did last year. Additionally, SLC has announced that fans will be able to enter for free.
Aside from that, the only women’s event beginning around that time is the Hundred, which starts on July 23. The only Asia Cup players who are also members of the Hundred are Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave), Richa Ghosh (Birmingham Phoenix), and Athapaththu (Oval Invincibles). However, they are unlikely to leave until after the Asia Cup is over.
For More Great Content
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports right now and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
