UAE Women Choose to Bowl First Against India in Women's Asia Cup 2024 Clash

In the Women's Asia Cup 2024, UAE Women skipper Esha Rohit Oza won the toss and chose to bowl first against India. India faced a setback with off-spinner Shreyanka Patil's injury, leading to Tanuja Kanwar's inclusion in the lineup. India previously triumphed over Pakistan, while UAE lost to Nepal.

United Arab Emirates Women's team captain Esha Rohit Oza won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in their fifth match of the ongoing Women's Asia Cup 2024 at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday. The off-spinner for India, Shreyanka Patil, has been ruled out of the tournament due to a finger injury. In her place, 21-year-old Tanuja Kanwar has been called up and is set to replace Renuka Singh Thakur in the playing XI.

The Women's Indian team, known as the Women in Blue, won their first match of the competition against arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets, whereas the UAE suffered a six-wicket loss to Nepal. Commenting on her decision after winning the toss, Oza stated, 'We want to bowl first. It's a fresh wicket, and we want to use that to our advantage and restrict them. It's important that you learn from the game. There were quite a few errors in the field. I just want to stick to the basics. Same side.'

Team India's skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, mentioned that she would have elected to bat first if she had won the toss. 'We wanted to bat only, happy with that. We'll just go with the flow and see how we start. Shreyanka is not playing; she got injured in the last game. In place of her, Tanuja is playing,' Kaur said.

The playing XI for the UAE includes Esha Rohit Oza (c), Theertha Satish (wk), Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Khushi Sharma, Heena Hotchandani, Vaishnave Mahesh, Rithika Rajith, Lavanya Keny, and Indhuja Nandakumar. Meanwhile, the Indian Women's playing XI comprises Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Dayalan Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav, Renuka Thakur Singh, and Tanuja Kanwar.

(With inputs from agencies.)