India 'A' defeated the hosts Hong Kong by 9 wickets in their opening game on Tuesday, kicking off their ACC Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup campaign. When given the opportunity to bat first, Hong Kong only made 34 in 14 overs. India 'A' responded by achieving the goal in 5.2 overs with the cost of one wicket.
When captain Shweta Sehrawat won the toss and decided to field, the India squad, which included several of the stars from the victorious U-19 World Cup campaign, was dominant from the start. Mariko Hill, one of the HK batters, was the only one to reach double digits with 14 off 19 balls and 2 fours. However, the rest of the HK batting order had trouble.
India will face off against Nepal next in the ACC Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup
The Indian team's top bowler, Shreyanka Patil, finished with 5/2 in 3 overs. In the eleventh over, the Karnataka bowler, who had figures of 4/0, nearly completed a hat trick by dismissing Mariko and Maryam Bibi in quick succession. Iqra Sahar's stumping by Uma Chetry by Parshavi Chopra, who also claimed two wickets, ended the HK innings.
India got off to a strong start thanks to Mannat Kashyap and Titas Sadhu, who played in the U19 World Cup final. Despite Sehrawat and Chetry, the openers, having a few near misses while dashing between the wickets, the Indian batters were able to comfortably complete the chase. Sadly, the India skipper was taken out by a fine catch by Kary Chan off of Betty Chan's delivery. But in the end, Chetry (16*) and Trisha Gongadi (19*) each smashed a six off Ruchitha Venkatesh's bowling to secure a nine-wicket victory. On June 15 at the same venue, India 'A' will now play Nepal in their second match of the competition.
India A, Pakistan A, Nepal, and Hong Kong are all placed in Group A for the inaugural ACC Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup in 2023. Group 2 is made up of Malaysia, the UAE, Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, and Bangladesh. The group stage consists of three matches for each team, with the top two teams meeting in the semifinal to determine the winner.
Here’s how fans reacted:
An RCB player's major contribution to get opponents out below 49.. pic.twitter.com/mTqE7kGfoW
— Picasso (@6icass) June 13, 2023
Queen 🤌
— Parker (@_SpiderVerse) June 13, 2023
Hong kong plays cricket?
— swayam (@amazingsunny23) June 13, 2023
RCB player saves India nothing new
— king (@manudada111) June 13, 2023
Already >>>>Mandhana imb
— 🌶️aK™ (@NotThatAnil) June 13, 2023
Dhobi against hong kong pic.twitter.com/SuP3oXatvf
— Maxi 💙 (@maxiking018) June 13, 2023
Future star after Perform against team like Hongkon pic.twitter.com/3lU1yHzAbs
— Sports Poll 🇮🇳 (@SportsPolll) June 13, 2023
Also had a future in insta reels pic.twitter.com/MEBj5dylkO
— AdityaVarma (@Ad1tyaVarma) June 13, 2023