India women begin Asian Games title defence against hosts Japan in quarterfinal
India will begin their bid to retain the Asian Games women’s cricket gold when Harmanpreet Kaur’s side face hosts Japan in a quarterfinal at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Friday.
Fresh from lifting the Women’s Asia Cup, India arrive in Japan after beating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Asia Cup final to win a record-extending eighth continental title; they will look to carry that momentum into the knockout format of the Asian Games while Japan will bank on home conditions and their experienced campaigners. India’s batting is expected to be central to their hopes, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma named as the opening pair.
Smriti Mandhana enters the tournament after a record-breaking Asia Cup in which she became the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket, surpassing Mithali Raj’s tally of 10,868 runs, and she struck 124 off 64 balls against Hong Kong. Shafali Verma scored 236 runs in the Asia Cup, won the Player of the Tournament award and became the youngest and fastest to 3000 Women’s T20I runs; her aggressive approach provides India with a potent top-order option.
Deepti Sharma is listed as a key all-round presence, offering experience and control with both bat and ball, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur is retained as a middle-order mainstay. India have also received a boost with Shreyanka Patil declared fit after recovering from an ankle injury, adding another spin-bowling all-rounder to the squad.
Japan’s hopes rest on captain Mai Yanagida, the 33-year-old all-rounder who was part of Japan’s 2014 Asian Games squad and has played 61 T20 matches for her country, scoring 777 runs and taking 27 wickets, including a four-wicket haul. Left-arm pacer Ahilya Chandel has claimed 41 wickets in 48 matches, Erika Oda is the leading run-scorer among the current squad with 802 runs from 51 matches, and Kurumi Ota is another member who featured in the 2014 Asian Games team.
The India vs Japan quarterfinal will begin at 10:30 AM IST (2 PM local time); Sony Sports Network holds the Asian Games broadcasting rights and the match will be live streamed on Sony LIV. India and Japan are yet to face each other in Women’s T20Is. India: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (Vice-Captain), Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), G. Kamalini (WK), Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandni Sharma. Japan: Mai Yanagida (captain), Ahilya Chandel, Ayumi Fujikawa, Hinase Goto, Haruna Iwasaki, Shimako Kato, Ayaka Kato-Stafford, Elena Kusuda-Nairn, Akari Nishimura, Erika Oda, Meg Ogawa, Kurumi Ota, Seika Sumi, Erika Toguchi-Quinn, Nonoha Yasumoto.
India’s immediate target is a place in the semifinals, with Bangladesh awaiting the winner after their quarterfinal against China was abandoned due to rain; a victory for Harmanpreet’s side would take them one step closer to retaining the gold medal they won in Hangzhou in 2023.
