India will clash with Nepal in their last group encounter in the Women’s Asia Cup in Dambulla on Tuesday. India are on top in Group A with two wins in as many matches while Nepal are in third position with one win and one loss each from two matches.

LAST 5 MATCHES

INDIA WOMEN: L NR W W W

NEPAL WOMEN: W W L W L

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR INDIA WOMEN AND NEPAL WOMEN

INDIA WOMEN likely XI

Batters: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Dayalan Hemalatha

Allrounders: Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar

Wicketkeeper: Richa Ghosh

Bowlers: Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh, Tanuja Kanwar

NEPAL WOMEN likely XI

Batters: Samjhana Khadka, Bindu Rawal

Allrounders: Indu Barma, Rubina Chhetry, Puja Mahato, Sita Rana Magar

Wicketkeeper: Kajal Shrestha, Roma Thapa

Bowlers: Kritika Marasani, Kabita Kunwar, Kabita Joshi

Statistical Performance (India)

1. SHAFALI VERMA

Shafali Verma hammered 37 off 18 deliveries against the UAE and will be destructive in the powerplay for India.

SHAFALI VERMA IN WT20Is

INNINGS - 77

RUNS - 1825

AVERAGE - 24.66

STRIKE RATE - 130.63

50s/100s – 9/0

2. DEEPTI SHARMA

Deepti Sharma is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with five wickets in 2 matches at an average of 8.6. She has a stellar record in T20I cricket.

DEEPTI SHARMA IN WT20Is

INNINGS - 111

WICKETS - 126

STRIKE RATE - 18.9

ECONOMY RATE - 6.01

AVERAGE - 19

Players Who Can Make a Difference (India)

1. SMRITI MANDHANA

Smriti Mandhana will be the mainstay for India in the top-order. She has an aggregate of 3378 runs in 133 innings at an average of 28.15 in T20Is.

2. POOJA VASTRAKAR

Pooja Vastrakar has bagged 56 wickets in 62 T20I matches at a strike rate of 19.5. She has been in fine wicket-taking form and picked 11 wickets in her last 5 matches.

Statistical Performance (Nepal)

1. INDU BARMA

Indu Barma is a bowling all-rounder who has a good T20I record for Nepal. She returned with 3/19 against the UAE.

INDU BARMA IN WT20Is

INNINGS - 31

WICKETS - 29

STRIKE RATE - 18.3

ECONOMY RATE - 4.15

AVERAGE - 12.7

2. SITA RANA MAGAR

Sita Rana Magar is a top-quality all-rounder for Nepal who has bagged 50 wickets in 49 innings with her slow left-arm orthodox while also scoring 896 runs at an average of 21.33.

SITA RANA MAGAR IN WT20Is

INNINGS - 49

WICKETS - 50

STRIKE RATE - 18.2

ECONOMY RATE - 4.28

AVERAGE - 13

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Nepal)

1. SAMJHANA KHADKA

Samjhana Khadka will be crucial at the top of the order for Nepal. She hammered an unbeaten 72 against the UAE in this Asia Cup.

2. RUBINA CHHETRY

All-rounder, Rubina Chhetry has been in prime form for Nepal. She has hammered 257 runs in her last 10 matches at an average of 42.8 and strike rate of 124.75 while also bagging 8 wickets at an economy rate of 3.58.

Team Head to Head

India Women and Nepal Women have never played each other in a T20I.

Venue and Pitch

Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla has hosted 9 Women T20I matches and it is advantageous to the team chasing. The team batting second has won 6 of the 9 encounters. Still, the captain who has won the toss and elected to bat first on six occasions! The team which has won the toss has won 4 and lost 5 matches at the venue for a win probability of 44.44%.

The highest score at the venue is India's 201/5 against UAE in their last match in this Asia Cup. The average score is 125. The average total in the first innings is 131 whereas the average total in the second innings is 118. The pitch favours the spinners who have bagged 62 wickets at the venue at an average of 23.35, strike rate of 21.4 and economy of just 6.53.

MATCH PREDICTION

ht sp. India have a very strong set of batters and spin bowlers.

FANTASY XI

And finally our Fantasy XI, in which we have Richa Ghosh as the wicket-keeper and Madhana, Harmanpreet, Shafali Verma and Samjhana Khadka as the batters. Our all-rounders are Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Rubina Chhetry and Sita Rana Magar while our bowlers include Radha Yadav and Kabita Joshi.

Fantasy XI:

Wicketkeeper: Richa Ghosh

Batters: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Samjhana Khadka

Allrounders: Rubina Chettry, Deepti Sharma (C), Sita Rana Magar, Pooja Vastrakar

Bowlers: Radha Yadav (VC), Kabita Joshi

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Jemimah Rodriques

BOWLER – Renuka Singh

ALL ROUNDER - Indu Barma