India’s women’s cricket team remains unconcerned about whether Pakistan or Sri Lanka will qualify for the final of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, with all-rounder Deepti Sharma emphasising that no opponent is taken lightly ahead of Sunday’s title match.
India secured a place in the final for the sixth consecutive edition after defeating Bangladesh by 40 runs in the semi-final on Thursday. Deepti stated that the team would analyse the outcome of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka semi-final before developing their final match strategy.
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“Actually, it depends on their result, but the Indian team is knowing about that,” Deepti said when asked about a preferred final opponent “The team doesn’t take any team lightly. Doesn’t matter, like maybe Sri Lanka, Pakistan, whoever comes in the final. We always think as a team how we can do better in each and every game. As a collective team performance, how we can do better,” she added during a post-match press conference in Dubai
India have already defeated Pakistan during the tournament,
India have already defeated Pakistan during the tournament, bowling them out for 55 before reaching the target with 68 balls to spare. A second final against Pakistan remains a possibility, but the defending champions Sri Lanka stand in the way.
Deepti said the team would review the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match collectively to inform their final preparations. “After this game, we’ll sit together tomorrow, and we will see tomorrow’s game, that will help us to do more strategy towards the finals,” she explained.
In the semi-final against Bangladesh, Deepti was instrumental, taking three wickets for 26 runs. India restricted Bangladesh to 109 for 7 after posting 149 for 6. Shafali Verma scored 64 runs off 40 balls, despite being dropped four times, to help amass a competitive total. Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 24, Richa Ghosh contributed 21 from 16 balls, and Deepti added a quick 13 not out from six deliveries.
Bangladesh began steadily but faltered when India introduced
Bangladesh began steadily but faltered when India introduced spin bowling. Deepti took a wicket in her first over and later dismissed Sobhana Mostary and Sharmin Akter, triggering a middle-order collapse.
With 11 wickets, Deepti is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. She highlighted the importance of her all-round abilities. “Actually, when I started my cricket journey, [it was] as an all-rounder, so it [being able to contribute in two departments] always helped from the starting only,” she said. “Whenever I get an opportunity in batting, I always trust that I can contribute in batting also. So I’m glad [about the] few balls I got to hit today. It always gives me confidence. Either bowling first or batting first doesn’t matter to me, but I always contribute as an all-rounder for the team,” she added.
Despite being unbeaten in the tournament, India’s fielding has raised concerns after four dropped catches against Bangladesh, though these did not affect the final result. Deepti acknowledged the errors but expressed confidence in the team’s preparation. “As a team in fielding, we have been doing good [work in training]. We are doing practice sessions taking a number of catches as well as fielding also,” she stated.
Source: thenewsmill.com
