NEW DELHI: India's
women's cricket team
, led by
Harmanpreet Kaur
, is gearing up for the
Women's Asia Cup
, which commences on Friday in Dambulla.
The tournament, being played in the T20 format this year, serves as a crucial stepping stone for the team's preparations for the upcoming
T20 World Cup
, set to be held in Bangladesh later this year.
Kaur emphasized the team's determination to maintain their dominance over sub-continental teams.
India's track record in the Women's Asia Cup has been nothing short of impressive, having emerged victorious in all seven editions of the tournament since its inception in 2004, across both T20I and ODI formats. The team's first challenge in this year's edition will be against their traditional rivals, Pakistan.
"This tournament is very important for all of us because we give equal respect to this tournament and want to improve at the Asian as well as at the world level.
"So our focus will remain same as we prepare for the T20 World Cup or any other World Cup. Each and every game is important for us and we will try to give our best," Harmanpreet, as quoted by PTI, said at the captains' press conference.
"The challenge will be to keep doing the right things which we have done in the past Asia Cups, keep playing the same type of cricket, and keep dominating other teams and enjoy our cricket," she added.
India enter the upcoming Asia Cup as the favorite to clinch the title. Their impressive track record in the tournament speaks for itself, making them the team to watch out for.
In the Women's Asia Cup T20, India have been the most dominant force, securing victories in 17 out of their 20 matches. Their prowess was on full display in the previous edition in 2022, where they emerged triumphant against Bangladesh in the final.
Moreover, India's head-to-head record against Pakistan, their first opponent in the tournament, has been exceptional in the T20 format. Out of the 14 encounters between the two sides, India have come out on top 11 times, while suffering only three losses.
"We always enjoy playing against Pakistan but each and every team is important. Whenever we go and play, we always want to play good cricket and we will follow the same method," Harmanpreet said on the eve of their opener.
Pakistan captain
Nida Dar
is well aware of India's prowess in the sport. As her team prepares to face their rivals, she acknowledges the opportunity to gain valuable insights from the Indian side.
"We just wanted to play against India because we had some good experiences and the way they are playing is great. Their approach in T20 is great, we have seen their approach. So this series is very important as at least we can learn from them," Dar said.
Besides India and Pakistan, other participating teams in this edition of the tournament are hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and United Arab Emirates.
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