Women’s Asia Cup: India will enter the final with a win against Thailand

India’s journey in the Women’s Asia Cup has been smooth so far and the team is expected to register another emphatic win when they take on a weak Thailand side in the semi-finals here on Thursday. The last match between these two teams was very one-sided in which India bundled Thailand for just 37 runs in 15.1 overs and then registered an easy victory in this league stage match.

Thailand team would like to do better in batting than the previous match against India. The team has made it to the semi-finals of the Asia Cup for the first time by beating hosts and defending champions Bangladesh. Narumol Chaiwai’s team will be hoping to prove that qualifying for the tournament is not a fluke. India has got a great opportunity to test its bench strength through this tournament and through this competition, the less experienced players of the team have been given a chance to go south.There is enough time to play in Africa ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.

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 Under this strategy, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur played only three out of six league matches and came out to bat at number seven during India’s only defeat against Pakistan. In search of a player to play the role of the finisher, India tried aggressive batsmen Kiran Prabhu Navgire and Dylan Hemlata. Kiran, who scored the fastest half-century in the Women’s T20 Challenge in May, managed just 10 runs in three innings while the more experienced Hemlata also has 45 runs in her four innings.

Now it remains to be seen whether India continues to experiment or whether they field their strongest team to prepare for the final. The spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gaikwad has been able to curb the opposition batsmen throughout the tournament. Thailand’s team will depend on their top three players Nanapat Koncharoenkei, Nathakan Chantham and captain Chaiwai to challenge India. All three have scored a lot of runs for the team in the tournament but their path will not be easy in front of India’s disciplined bowling. The most positive aspect for India has been Jemima Rodriguez’s form. Jemima has scored the highest 188 runs with the help of two half-centuries while playing the responsibility in the middle order. Opener Shafali Verma, who failed in the first two matches, has also made a strong comeback. The second semi-final will also be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday itself.

The teams are as follows:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Shefali Verma, Jemima Rodrigues, S Meghna, Richa Ghosh, Sneh Rana, Dylan Hemlata, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gaikwad, Radha Yadav and Kiran Navgire. Thailand: Narumol Chaiwai (Captain), Nataya Bouchtham, Nathakan Chentham, Sunida Chaturongratana, Onicha Kamchomphu, Suwanan Khiaoto, Nanapat Koncharoenkei, Suliporn Laomi, Banthida Leafthana, Fannita Maya, Nanthita Thipapathasukhamt, Tinthita Thipapathasukhamt, Phuttintha Thippathasukham, Onicha Kamchomphu, Suwanan Khiaoto, Nanapat Koncharoenkei, Sulliporn Laomi, Banthida Leafthana.

Timing: The match will start at 8.30 am IST.