Harmanpreet Kaur - We would have batted first as well, but we'll have to bowl well and restrict them. We have one change, Pooja is out with an injury. We'll have to move forward with a positive approach, it's always how you bounce back and we've spoken about it. We will go out there and play some positive cricket.
Fatima Sana - We will bat first, put up a total on the board. Diana Baig misses out, that's the only change. It's a big blow, but we've players who can do well in her absence. We'll try to put up a good total here. I'm excited to lead Pakistan against India
Pakistan Women have won the toss and have opted to bat
Harmanpreet Kaur's team are already in 'must win territory' having lost their opener. They have a splendid head-to-head record against Pakistan, winning 12 of the 15 T20I games played against them so far.
13:00 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST:
Preview
Never before in this decade have India gone into a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan with pressure on their back and wind knocked out of their sails so early in the competition. It isn't doomsday yet for the Group A heavyweights, but Pakistan's opening day victory over reigning Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka followed by their own NRR-gutting 58-run loss at the hands of New Zealand has lent this otherwise superficial rivalry some meaningful context. Come Sunday (October 6), a high-on-confidence Pakistan would be waiting to take a stab at wounded India in what is a landmark game for Dubai.
Given the conviction exhibited by the Indian management in its rejigged top-six in the build up to the tournament, any changes to their batting order could be perceived as a knee-jerk reaction after a shock opening defeat. It was, after all, a rare blip in an otherwise solid World Cup cycle for their batters led by Smriti Mandhana (703) and Shafali Verma (617) up top who both fare among the top-10 scorers in this period. However, with their campaign in a precarious spot and a turnaround time of under 48 hours between games, India would want its batters to hit their straps quickly. India could actually take a leaf out of the New Zealand book and look to spread out [link devine copy] their best or most experienced batters to cover for contingencies like what unfolded on Friday night.
Which begs a question: did India mend something which was never broken to plug another gap? [link harman copy] In restoring to factory settings by reinstating Harmanpreet Kaur at no. 4 and bringing in another left-hander (Yastika Bhatia) to the line-up, India could potentially go in best prepared to negate Pakistan's biggest threat.
Left-arm spin twins Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu rarely get the recognition they deserve, but together the duo have accounted for 59 wickets in 27 games this World Cup cycle for Pakistan. The pair claimed a combined 5/32 in the 31-run loss Pakistan inflicted on Sri Lanka with Sandhu cleaning up the young guns and Sadia rummaging through the opponents' experienced lower middle-order to restrict them to 85/9.
The one-sidedness of this rivalry may still rear its ugly head after all the ballyhoo. Afterall, India comfortably lead 12-3 in the 15 meetings against Pakistan in the shortest format, their rivalry limited to World Cups and Asia Cups only. Pakistan's last victory against the neighbours came in the 2022 Asia Cup, but never would have India seemed so vulnerable before. The next stop in the Fatima Sana-led Pakistan's upward trajectory could be gate-crashing India's party.
When: Sunday, October 6 at 6 PM Local | 7:30 PM IST
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
What to expect: Temperature in mid-30s making it a hot afternoon. There's only been one day game in Dubai so far this World Cup, and West Indies managed a lowly 118/6 due to lack of application from batters. The batting did seem to get easier as the game progressed in the setting sun. Chasing could therefore be the captain's choice at toss.
Team News
India: Full-strength India turned up for their pre-match training that focussed equally on nets as on the fielding drills. Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh had a dedicated high-catching session. Radha Yadav, who did not feature against New Zealand, spent most of the day on the sidelines. While that's barely an accurate indicator of her match-readiness, the left-arm spinner had bowled only four overs across the two official warm-ups. If India seek diversity in their spin attack, her inclusion could be on the cards.
Pakistan: After sustaining a calf injury on Thursday, Diana Baig was on rest on the eve of the big game and remains a doubtful starter. A decision on her availability will be taken closer to match start.
- The India-Pakistan clash is set to become a part of venue history as this will be the 100th T20I hosted by Dubai International Cricket Stadium, of which 92 have been the men's games.
- Sadia Iqbal is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is in this World Cup cycle with 39 scalps in 27 innings at 5.59.
- Harmanpreet Kaur needs 59 runs to become the second Indian in the top-three of the all-time leading run-scores in WT20Is, after Smriti Mandhana (3505).
- Shafali Verma is 50 runs away from entering the 2000-run club.
What they said
"When you go in with six bowling options, it's bound to happen," India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi on under-bowling Pooja Vastrakar
"We have always wanted to play attacking cricket. Whichever team we played against would attack our bowlers from the word go. I wanted our team to have batters who can punish the bowlers from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the results soon hopefully." - Pakistan captain Fatima Sana on what brand of cricket she wanted her team to play
Pakistan Women
India Women
