Unchanged India bat first in the Women’s Asia Cup Final

After a thrilling finish to the semifinal between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, we are here at the Rangiri Dambulla Stadium for the Women’s Asia Cup final between Sri Lanka and India. 

As expected, India went with an unchanged side in the final, having kept the core group intact throughout the competition despite facing relatively weaker oppositions. In fact, 13 times teams have chosen to bat first at Dambulla in the 18 WT20Is that have been held here. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka would be up against an Indian batting line-up that is in great form. Despite the match being played on the same pitch as the two earlier Semi-Finals on July 26, the pitch is still really good to bat on. 

On the Indian side, it's a special day for Jemimah Rodrigues as she is playing her 100th T20I today.

A special TON! 💯

Jemimah Rodrigues is all set to play her 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th T20I match today for #TeamIndia 👏 👏

Go well 👍👍

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/RRCHLLmNEt#WomensAsiaCup2024 | #INDvSL | #ACC | #Final | @JemiRodrigues pic.twitter.com/3PXT2p6itO

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 28, 2024

Win record (WT20Is) at the venue:

Team batting first won: 6

Team battings second won: 11

Here is what the two captains said at the toss:

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur: We are going to bat first. The reason is that both the semis were played on this pitch. That's why. We really work hard, so today's batting lineup looks like a long one. It's good for us. They are a good side. We just think what we have to do: We have to play good cricket. It's the same team for us.

Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu: If we had won the toss, we were looking to bowl first. We have to improve our fielding, and hopefully, our batters will bat well. (On her elbow) Yeah, 80 percent okay. One change for us - Sachini Nisansala comes in for Achini Kulasuriya

What are the changes and playing XI

The Indian women have remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has made just one change: it has brought in slow left-arm orthodox Sachini Nisansala. 

India playing XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Uma Chetry, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Thakur Singh

Sri Lanka playing XI: Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu(c), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani(w), Hasini Perera, Sugandika Kumari, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala

How’s the pitch predicted to behave 

Here’s Isobel Joyce’s pitch report: 

The pockets are quite big straight from both ends, there is a cloud cover and there’s lots of wind. We did see the wind playing its part in the semi-final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We have had plenty of runs on this pitch. It still looks like a very good batting pitch. I’m hoping for a high-scoring game. If India post more than 160, I feel they will come out on top.

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