KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE women’s cricket team will look to turn home advantage and a strong run of regional form into a breakthrough performance when they make their first appearance as hosts at the 10th Women’s Asia Cup, which gets under way in Dubai on Thursday.
The continental tournament, running from August 28 to September 13, will be staged in the UAE for the first time, with all matches played under lights.
The hosts open their Group B campaign against defending champions Sri Lanka on August 29 before facing Indonesia on September 4 and Bangladesh on September 8.
With India, Pakistan, Thailand and Hong Kong drawn in Group A, the UAE have avoided several of the tournament’s strongest sides in the opening phase. A top-two finish in their group would send them into the semi-finals on September 10 or 11, with the final scheduled for September 13.
Captain Esha Oza believes the UAE are ready to make the most of the opportunity after reaching the final of the ACC Women’s Premier Cup earlier this year, where they lost to Thailand.
“I think preparations are going amazing. All the girls are putting in good effort,” Oza said. “We lost in the final to Thailand, but we had many people perform in the Premier Cup. That prepared us for the Asia Cup as well.
“Now getting into the Asia Cup, I think we’ve put in more effort. We’ve worked hard, we’re training much harder now. We know the areas we need to work more on.”
The presence of family and supporters in the stands is another source of motivation for Oza, who expects the home crowd to help the team manage the pressure of playing on the big stage.
“We can play in front of a home crowd, in front of our family. So we’re really excited for that and hopefully we have a good performance,” she said. “Pressure will be there, but I think with all of them being around, pressure is relieved also.”
The UAE's coach Sudha Venkatraman shares her captain’s ambition, insisting the team are not content simply to be part of the tournament.
“It’s a very good opportunity for the girls to perform at the highest level,” Venkatraman said. “We have come here to compete and not to participate. So, hope we will do well and we will conquer.”
This confidence is more than just hope, as it comes in the wake of a good run of performances. The ICC last month honoured the Emirates Cricket Board with the ICC Associate Member Women’s Team Performance of the Year after Oza's team delivered a 2-2 result against Zimbabwe in their first 50-over format series after gaining ODI status last year. The UAE women then notched up a historic maiden 2-0 win in the T20I series that followed.
Rubbing shoulders with the best of Asian teams has also helped.
Left-arm bowling all-rounder Heena Hotchandani is relishing the chance to share the stage with some of the region’s leading players. She singled out India opener Smriti Mandhana as a source of inspiration and is looking forward to meeting Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu.
“My favourite is Smriti Mandhana – how she builds her innings. The way she has been consistent for the past five or six years is very inspiring, and we should also try to follow in her footsteps,” Hotchandani said.
For the UAE, the challenge is to convert recent progress into results against three established opponents. Oza, however, insists the hosts are setting their sights beyond merely making up the numbers.
“We are underdogs in the tournament. But we’re out there to go for the title as well. We’re not just there to participate. We’re working hard and we’ll give it our best,” she said.