Women’s Asia Cup final today:
India brimming with confidence as Sri Lanka try to make amends
By Chinthana WASALA in Kurunegala
CRICKET: Everything is set for the final of the Fourth Women’s
Asia Cup Cricket Tournament which will take place at the Welagedera
Stadium in Kurunegala today.
Sri Lanka will meet India for the third successive occasion in a
final of a Women’s Asia Cup.
With the tournament’s best players with the bat and the ball making
their places secured in the two teams, the final is set to be a highly
enthusiastic one for the healthy amount of spectators at Welagedera
Stadium.
India, unbeaten in the tournament, will be a great challenge for the
home team. So far in this year’s Asia Cup, Sri Lanka has lost to India
in both of their meetings, by 29 runs at Dambulla and by stunning 84
runs at Kurunegala. Sri Lanka and India have met in three finals in the
previous versions of the Women’s Asia Cup finals, but this time a
tougher game is ahead of the home team.
But the last game before the final in Welagedera, saw Sri Lankan
women at their best. The home team showed they have done a lot of
homework on fielding, batting and bowling after winning that by nine
wickets. In the previous games, Lankans did not give off their best when
it came to fielding. But the Bangladesh encounter saw the least amount
of fielding mistakes.
The best run-getters in the tournament will meet today. Mithali Raj,
the Indian skipper who is the only centurion in this tournament, heads
the rankings followed by Dedunu Silva, the Sri Lankan opener.Indian
bowling attack looks stronger with the top two bowlers in the tournament
P. Seema and Julan Goswami both having 11 wickets each. Chamari
Polgampola and Sewini de Alwis are in the third and fourth slots with
nine wickets each.
So, without any doubt, the final will be a match to remember.
A great location for the final
Earlier on, the Indian team management requested the SLC to shift the
venue of the final to Rangiri Dambulla Stadium due to the less
facilities in Welagedera than the Dambulla Stadium. But the SLC did not
change their plan to host the final at the same venue.
Welagedera Stadium will be a great location for the final as a
considerable number of spectators were seen throughout the tournament to
witness the women’s cricket, far more than it was in Dambulla.
The players too were happy to play in front of a large crowed other
than playing in front of empty stands.
With not much of International cricket seen at the Welagedera Stadium
Kurunegala, the cricket lovers are eagerly waiting for a final of a
colourful and a successful tournament to be played in front their eyes.
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