Consistency, form in spotlight as India begin Women’s Asia Cup T20 campaign against Thailand

DUBAI: Harmanpreet Kaur's India will look to banish their ordinary run in the shortest format while facing questions over their consistency and form as they take on Thailand in their Women’s T20 Asia Cup Group A opener here on Sunday.

India have been the most dominant team in the Women's T20 Asia Cup over the last decade -- winning the title thrice in five editions of the T20 format since 2016-17 -- but their performances bring forth more concerns than assurances at the moment.

India have lost nine of 16 T20Is this year, and their most recent loss -- against Australia in the Women's T20 World Cup -- knocked them out of the competition at the group stage itself.

With questions persisting over captain Harmanpreet's own form and future in the shortest format, India head into a crucial phase of competing in two Asian-level competitions in which they would be expected to go the distance.

Following the eight-team Women's T20 Asia Cup, where India are placed in Group A along with Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan, they will head into next month's Asian Games in Japan with expectations high to bring more laurels to the country.

Having endured a largely disappointing campaign in the Women's T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet fired in the all-important clash against Australia, but her inconsistency with the bat remained one of the talking points from the campaign in which India struggled against higher-ranked teams.

With dependable batter Jemimah Rodrigues sidelined for the Asia Cup and Asian Games, India have added Pratika Rawal to their star-studded squad, but the choice hardly settles the requirement for a middle-order enforcer.

At the top, India will continue to have the formidable opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, but the biggest challenge for batters at No. 3 and beyond would be to sustain momentum and provide further impetus to the scoreboard.

Poor fielding was again a major concern the last time India played in the format, as a string of dropped chances near the ropes led to their downfall, and the team management would be desperate to have their bases covered this time around.

India will rely on their seasoned all-rounder Deepti Sharma to lead the spin attack once again, with Shree Charani, the highest wicket-taker of the T20 World Cup, Radha Yadav and Prema Rawat sharing the workload.

India's seam bowling arsenal looks potent too, with the experienced Renuka Singh Thakur having the likes of Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy and Nandani Sharma to share the responsibilities.

Thailand, meanwhile, will look to draw confidence from their victory over Hong Kong in their opening match, for which they had to work hard. A sedate start led to Thailand finishing at a modest 120 for nine, but they did well with the ball and in the field to restrict Hong Kong to 114 for seven.

Skipper Naruemol Chaiwai (43) held their batting together, while Onnicha Kamchomphu (3/27) and Phannita Maya (2/22) impressed with the ball.

Teams (from):

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Gunalan Kamalini (wk), Pratika Rawal, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Radha Yadav.

Thailand: Naruemol Chaiwai (c), Nannaphat Chaihan, Natthakan Chantham, Naomi Hilton, Nannapat Koncharoenkai (wk), Onnicha Kamchomphu, Phannita Maya, Chanida Sutthiruang, Aphisara Suwanchorathi, Sunida Chaturongrattana, Chayanisa Phengpaen, Suleeporn Laomi, Thipatcha Putthawong, Thanrada Seesawan, Koranit Suwanchonrathi.

Match starts at 8:00pm IST.