Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur
At the 2023 Asian Games, the Indian team’s first match against Malaysia will be captained by Smriti Mandhana: The Indian men’s cricket team will face Australia from June 22 ahead of the 2023 World Cup. But in the meantime, the Indian women’s cricket team will be in action from Thursday. In fact, the Asian Games have started at this time, although the official start will be on the 23rd, but the games have already started before that. This time cricket is also there. Women’s and men’s teams will demonstrate their skills. The men’s team’s first match will be played on October 3, with the senior players not playing, hence the responsibility of captaincy has been given to Ruturaj Gaikwad. Meanwhile, the women’s cricket team will be seen at the 2023 Asian Games from Thursday. Based on the ICC rankings, the Indian team has secured a direct place in the quarterfinals.
The Indian women’s cricket team’s first match against Malaysia
The Indian women’s cricket team will face Malaysia in the first match of the Asian Games on September 21. The Indian team’s performance in the last few games suggests that the team will win gold, but for this the first hurdle has to be overcome. The responsibility of captaincy lies in the hands of Smriti Mandhana, although Harmanpreet Kaur is the captain, she will not be able to captain the first two games. The reason for this is the ban. In fact, the ICC had banned Harmanpreet Kaur for two matches during the India-Bangladesh matches in July for violating the code of conduct. This means Harmanpreet will not be able to play in the quarterfinals and semifinals. If Team India gets to the final after that, there can be a comeback there.
Team India has shone in Asia
For the most part, the Indian team only has to compete with Asian teams. So let’s try to understand how Team India has performed so far in the Asia Cup. In fact, eight seasons of the Asian Cup have been played so far. The Indian women’s team has won it seven times. Team India had also reached the final in 2018, but the Indian team was eliminated after a defeat against Bangladesh. From 2004 to 2008, it was played in ODI format i.e. 50 over Asia Cup which Team India continuously won. But since 2012, it has been played in T20 format. Four tournaments have been held so far, out of which Team India has won three times. The special thing is that cricket at the Asian Games is also played in the T20 format, which means 20 over matches are played. If we talk about Team India rankings, the women’s team is ranked fourth. No matter which team the Indian women’s team will play against at the Asian Games, in a direct comparison, Team India is ahead. But there are some teams in which the Indian team has never played and in such a situation they will face each other for the first time. There will definitely be some tough competition at this point.
Read this sports news on India TV too