Mandhana-led India opt to bat; Harmanpreet, Vastrakar rested

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Nepal made two changes to their XI and harbour slim hopes of making the semi-finals

With India almost assured of a semi-final spot, Pooja Vastrakar and Harmanpreet Kaur were rested  •  BCCI

Toss India chose to bat vs Nepal

India’s stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana won the toss and opted to bat against Nepal in their final group game of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 in Dambulla.

Regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur and allrounder Pooja Vastrakar were rested as India handed an opportunity to spin-bowling allrounder S Sajana and bowling allrounder Arundhati Reddy. India have won both their previous matches in the competition and are all but through to the semi-final. Mandhana said that the team is looking to post a total of over 180.

Nepal captain Indu Barma confirmed two changes to the side that lost to Pakistan with middle-order batter Dolly Bhatta and pace-bowling allrounder Sabnam Rai replacing batter Roma Thapa and left-arm spinner Kritika Marasini.

With one win and a loss each, Nepal needed to win big to hope for a top two finish in Group A. Earlier in the day, Pakistan beat UAE to be on four points behind India and are likely to advance to the knockouts.

India: Smriti Mandhana (capt), Shafali Verma, D Hemalatha, Jemimah Rodrigues, S Sajana, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Tanuja Kanwar, Renuka Singh

Nepal: Samjhana Khadka, Sita Rana Magar, Kabita Kunwar, Indu Barma (capt), Dolly Bhatta, Rubina Chhetry, Puja Mahato, Kabita Joshi, Kajal Shreshtha (wk), Sabnam Rai, Bindu Rawal

Srinidhi Ramanujam is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo