Women's Asia Cup: Thailand opt to bowl; Pratika Rawal debuts for India
Synopsis
Thailand Women won the toss and opted to bowl against India in the Women's Asia Cup 2026. Pratika Rawal made her T20I debut for India, replacing an unavailable Jemimah Rodrigues. Thailand's captain aims to restrict India to 120-130 runs.
Thailand Women won the toss and elected to bowl first against India Women in their Women's Asia Cup 2026 clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Meanwhile, Pratika Rawal made her T20I debut for India, receiving her maiden cap from captain Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of the match.
What the captains said
Thailand captain Thipatcha Putthawong, after winning the toss, confirmed that regular captain Nannapat Koncharoenkai is unavailable due to injury. She added that Thailand's aim is to restrict India to 120-130 runs. "Nannapat Koncharoenkai is injured. [How much are you planning to restrict India for?] Nothing more than 120-130," she said at the toss presentation.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said the team would have also preferred to bowl first but they were comfortable batting first. She confirmed Rawal's T20I debut in place of the unavailable Jemimah Rodrigues, adding that India's focus is on playing their best cricket, being ruthless, and making a strong start to the important tournament. "We also thought of bowling first, but batting first is also not a problem. It is our first match in Dubai. Rather than keeping lot of things in mind, it's about going out there and giving our best. Today Pratika is making her debut because Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) is not there. Playing good cricket is what we want to do. We have spoken about being ruthless and this is an important tournament for us," she said.
India Women vs Thailand Women playing 11s
India Women: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, N Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma.
Thailand Women: Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, Nattakan Chantam, Phannita Maya, Nannapat Koncharoenkai(w), Chanida Sutthiruang, Naomi Hamilton, Suleeporn Laomi, Nannaphat Chaihan, Sunida Chaturongrattana, Thipatcha Putthawong(c), Onnicha Kamchomphu.
(ANI)