The Women's Asia Cup T20 2024 begins today as Nepal locks horns with the UAE. The T20 edition of the Asia Cup is a good test for teams to polish out their skills before the world T20 event slated to be held in October -November in Bangladesh. The event will help put the teams into competition mode and will provide an opportunity to tinker with their teams if needed and try out different strategies and combinations before the main event later in the year. This sort of high-level tournament also helps the younger teams to allow the jitters to settle in and gives them a taste of the pressure similar to World Cup matches

The host Sri Lanka is coming off with a loss in a 3-match t20 series against West Indies meanwhile India drew the series against South Africa. The neighbors Pakistan and Bangladesh were handed a series loss against England and India respectively.

The tournament is a great spectacle for not-yet-established teams like Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, and UAE to showcase their talent and be able to play among top-tier teams. The more often they play against big teams, the better they are going to get and that will result in growth in their game and becoming contenders in the future.

All eyes will be on the India- Pak rivalry with the game scheduled in the evening on 19th July at 7 PM local time at Dambula. The last time these two teams was in the t20 World Cup 2023 where India won by 7 wickets with an over to spare while chasing a target of 150.

Players to watch out for:

Smriti Mandhana (IND)- The India opener was in sublime form during the series against South Africa and will be looking to give India a strong start at the top.

Harmanpreet Kaur (IND)- The India captain is generally a slow starter in the innings but catches up with her strong hits later. India will be looking to rely on her during the middle overs to increase the momentum and big finishes.

Aliya Riaz (PAK)- The hard-hitting allrounder has come as a refreshing air in the Pakistan dugout which traditionally depended on their top order of good scores. Her role will be to give impetus to the Pakistan score in crucial death overs.

Jahanara Alam (BAN)- Dropped from the sides for not being among the wickets, the seam bowler is on a return to the Bangladesh side on the back of impressive results in the domestic games.

Chamari Athapaththu (SL)- Wherever she plays she makes sure people are glued to the screens to watch her emphatic skills on display. The Sri Lankan captain is also the glue of the setup and the team's success will largely depend on her performance as has been the case with this Sri Lankan team.

Image source: X

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