So, finally, the Asia Cup final is upon us. Later today at 8 pm at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, India and Sri Lanka take the field and try to outdo each other. There is very little surprise that these two teams have made the final, if truth be told. India beat Bangladesh rather comfortably in the first semifinal, while Sri Lanka had to work hard for their victory against Pakistan in the second. India and Sri Lanka were in the final last time around as well in Dambulla, and despite heading into that match as favourites, the Indians were thrashed by the hosts.
India put up a very good total of 165/6 after Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to have a bat. The Sri Lankans lost the first wicket in the second over, but after that, they punished India. Chamari Athapaththu and Harshita Samarawickrama scored 61 and 69 not out, respectively, to lead a successful chase for the hosts as they took the contest and their maiden Asia Cup trophy with 8 balls to spare. It would be wrong not to mention the batting of Kavisha Dilhari, who smashed a 16-ball 30 not out at No.4 to throw India totally out of the contest.
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So today India will have to remember what happened two years ago. There is no room for complacency. Contrary to India, Sri Lanka are coming into the contest having played a tough game against Pakistan. Chasing 131 to win, they were reduced to 33/4 at one time, but they staged a remarkable recovery and eventually overcame the opposition.
Batting is a problem
India have had all their games easy, against Thailand, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Bangladesh. And they are supposed to have easy games against these teams. The Indians are one of the best sides in the world, and they are expected to make light of these teams wherever they play. But what happens is that often easy games breed complacency. And it’s not that India have ticked all the boxes so far.
Their batting remains an issue. Yes, it’s true that pitches in Dubai aren’t exactly favourable to batting, but for a very large part of their campaign, they haven’t batted as per their reputation. It has not been a team effort. Against Hong Kong, only Smriti Mandhana shone with a century. Against Bangladesh, it was Shafali Verma. Against Thailand, which was also their opener, the team, from 91/1 in 8.5 overs at one time, could only make 159/9. Again, Verma was the only serious contributor. If truth be told, it’s India’s spinners that have won them the games so far. Deepti Sharma (joint highest wicket-taker at present), Shree Charani and Prema Rawat have been at the forefront of their campaign. Pacers Nandini Sharma and Kranti Gaud have been good, too.
But the Indian bowlers can have a bad day at the office. Sri Lanka have some really, really good batters in their side. Athapaththu, Samarawickrama and Dilhari continue to pose massive threats. Plus, their spin department is equally potent. So, India have to be careful. They will have to bat much better to have a really good chance. Running between the wickets is an important aspect of batting, and India need to improve heavily on that front too. Mandhana’s run-out against Thailand was horrible. There were other instances, too. Fielding has also been questionable at times. They have dropped easy catches.
So, when all is said and done, India will have to play a perfect game. Cricket history has taught us one thing. And that is when you play a team from the same region, you have to be very careful. They know more about you than you think they do.