File photo of Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur© AFP
Defending champions India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on July 19 in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup to be held in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. The top eight teams of the continent will participate in the tournament from July 19 till July 28. Unlike last time, this year the eight teams have been divided into two groups. India Pakistan, UAE and Nepal are placed in Group A, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia are in Group B.
According to the updated schedule released by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), after Pakistan, India will take on UAE on July 21, followed by the match against Nepal on July 23.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals to be held on July 26 while the final is scheduled for July 28.
Besides India, Pakistan, UAE, Nepal, hosts Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia are the other participating teams.
The tournament will once again feature an all-female team of match officials.
India are the most successful team with seven title wins in the Asia Cup, which has been played in T20 format since 2012.
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