Only one word describes this ongoing tale of excitement and cut-throat competition in this Women’s Asia Cup T20 2024 game between India and Nepal. The Indian eves have just given another example of why they are right on top of their game by setting a very stiff target for Nepal. We take you through all the moments in the encounter below.
India’s strong batting performance
Opting to bat first, India made their intentions clear right from the outset. A terrific start was set for India by Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana at the opening end. Verma, the brash character with the willow, surely did no harm in proving why she belongs at the top of the order. The youngster dealt in boundaries and made sure that there was enough pressure put on the bowlers of Nepal in every over. Good support came from Mandhana, playing elegant stroke play to make sure the score kept ticking for the team.
And then came Verma’s half-century, which bore the stamp of an innings full of powerful shots around the park, really good boundaries, and a couple of towering sixes; large talent was shown in her. At the other end, Mandhana was holding fort, going about it in a more controlled way, taking singles and punishing loose deliveries.
Harmanpreet Kaur led the side with a typical captain’s knock: mixing caution with aggression, putting up a good score, and pacing the innings almost perfectly. The middle order was well set after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur guided them ably. Further, a combination of contributions from Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma pumped up the total for India to a fighting score.
Nepal Difficult Run-chase
The newly enforced target put the batting of Nepal to the toughest task, as the disciplined Indian bowling hardly provided any scoring opportunities. They had a bright start against the Indian bowlers. In particular, the experienced Jhulan Goswami made some early strikes in her opening spell of fast bowling by pitching into the right-hander and then making it move.
Pooja Vastrakar was a good foil to Goswami and supported her by maintaining the pressure from the other end. It just substantiated the strength of Indian bowling, rich in depth and variety. The spin pair of Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav bowled through the first half and cramped Nepal’s innings. Sharma, with line and length ably supported by subtle variations, continued to get key wickets while the left-arm spin of Yadav made the life of batters hard.
The middle order of Nepal showed a little resistance and built partnerships where some players contributed. However, the build-up pressure of the required run rate and frequent wickets at intervals would just not let the grip go off the bowlers of India, ensuring there was no free flow of runs for the opposition in Asia cup 2024.
Key Performances and Turning Points
- Shafali Verma: Her explosive batting paved the way for a big Indian total. “So, she needed to be scoring briskly and be on top of the bowlers”
- Harmanpreet Kaur: Good support built up in the captain’s knock and helped in the latter half of India’s innings to put up a challenging score.
- Jhulan Goswami: Broke the back early and gave away few runs to throw the race of Nepal off the.
- Deepti Sharma: All-round performance, bagging wickets and scoring handy runs, fully justifying her selection into the team.
The great difference in two teams in terms of experience and class has been visibly evident since the start of the match. The seasoned campaigners of India came to the party, being class apart, but the players of Nepal would have surely had a good learning experience on how to play against a top team.
Future Prospects
India would be all geared up after such performance to look towards Women’s Asia Cup T20 in 2024. They are a really good team and strong contenders to win the title. For Nepal, events of such caliber are important if the teams want to see their current level of progress take higher leaps. The much-needed experience of playing against stronger teams will do them a world of good as they improve their game. Fans can now look forward to plenty more thrilling moments in this tournament. India’s class performance in this game stands proof of the same, whereas Nepal participating holds out hope that the women’s game in the region is growing.
