In the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup Group A match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, Thailand won the toss and opted to field first against India. This match marks a significant occasion as top-order batter Pratika Rawal is set to make her T20I debut for the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side.
The match also marks off-spin bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma’s 150th T20I game, making her only the third Indian cricketer after Harmanpreet (202) and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (171) to achieve the milestone. Globally, Deepti becomes the 12th player in women’s cricket history to feature in 150 T20Is. Because jemi is not there, “Today Pratika is making her debut.
We have spoken about being ruthless and this is an important tournament for us,” said India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. Pratika, already capped in ODIs and Tests, came into India’s squad for the continental event as Jemimah Rodrigues’ replacement for the Asia Cup, following the latter’s hamstring injury. “We also thought of bowling first, but batting first is also not a problem. It is our first match in Dubai. Rather than keeping a lot of things in mind, it’s about going out there and giving our best. Playing good cricket is what we want to do.
