The Women’s Asia Cup 2024 has, more than anything else, brought to light the need for a clear ranking system in women’s cricket as well as the means of bridging the gaps that are becoming more and more obvious.
Days after Bangladesh had defeated Malaysia to go to the semi-finals, the elephant-like Indian juggernaut quickly turned from the stompers to the crushed, rolling over them like an anthill in search of water.
Even while one-sided games are typical in sports, the regular, almost anticipated aspect of this particular battle may have been discouraging to many in attendance. This didn’t seem like a competition, much less a semi-final.
Moving on to the actual game, Bangladesh’s decision to win the toss and bat first may have been a mistake in retrospect. Even with their diverse lineup, India’s batting still garners the most attention. It is widely believed that, with the help of the batting-friendly Dambulla surface, they could have pursued far more than the 81 they were ultimately required to chase down. However, considering how quickly and effectively they managed to reach the goal, it may have been as foolish to give this Indian lineup only 20 overs to bat.
Therefore, maybe the less imaginative of the two choices was to post a score that was just barely competitive and hope for some Indian jitters. However, this flimsy attempt to calculate victory possibilities for Bangladesh likely explains why the broadcast pundits were trying to find any and all threads to fabricate the possibility of an upset, or even a fight. The closest they came was bringing up Bangladesh’s unexpected victory over India in the 2018 Asia Cup final, a match in which they had really defeated India twice.
Unfortunately, it was six years ago, and this Indian team—who was already the favorite—has advanced significantly since then. Bangladesh has stalled in the meanwhile.
And there are a few very obvious reasons for this. Naturally, one is training players from the bottom up, but what’s more crucial is consistent practice against the top teams. Bangladesh seldom encounters resistance of this kind outside of a big tournament, despite their best efforts, and that just cannot be tolerated.
Bangladesh has only played one series against Australia (earlier this year), one against New Zealand, and two against India out of their 12 bilateral Twenty20 International series since the 2018 final. In comparison, India has played one of England, Australia, or New Zealand in eight bilateral series while also having the most overall number of bilateral series (17) throughout that time.
“Playing against a good team is a good experience for the girls going forward,” Bangladesh’s head coach Hashan Tillakaratne said to ESPNcricinfo following the match.
“Knowledge, not talent, is what wins sports; that much is clear. They have the skill, but they must comprehend the rules of the game. Competitive at a higher level is [the best approach to do it]. We have to consistently compete against the top teams.”
And Sri Lanka is all that is needed to demonstrate the advantages of playing more frequently against elite opponents. Not very long ago, Sri Lanka was effectively the Chamari Athapaththu squad, and they weren’t actually playing many games in between major tournaments due to a global epidemic and a generally uninteresting cricket board.
However, since 2022, they have been able to schedule bilateral series with a number of countries, including England, New Zealand, and India, whom they have even defeated. The fact that youthful talent has been coming through during this time and is now receiving excellent expertise at a much earlier age than those who came before them is another important component of this for Sri Lanka.
However, because to the benefit of appropriate investment and a head start, Sri Lanka, even with their current form, will be significant underdogs against this well-trained Indian team should they get to the final. But they’re headed in the right direction and are gradually narrowing the distance, which implies that for Bangladesh and others in lower positions
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