Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: Match 7, IND-W vs PAK-W Match Preview: Head to Head records, pitch report and more

India Women and Pakistan Women. (Source – Getty Images)

India suffered a crushing 58-run defeat in their maiden T20 World Cup 2024 game against New Zealand. Both the batting and bowling unit flopped, which put the team under immense pressure ahead of the upcoming clash against arch-rivals Pakistan. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side looked subpar in the game against the White Ferns and if they don’t improve against Pakistan, the tournament will be more or less over for them.

The seniors, in the form of Harmanpreet, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma need to take responsibility with the bat. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma might be young but she has been in the international circuit for almost five years now and needs to be more consistent going forward. Jemimah Rodrigues, on the other hand, has been the shining star for India in the recent past but she too flopped against New Zealand.

When it comes to the bowling unit, Renuka Singh Thakur looked impressive. There were a lot of expectations from Deepti following her brilliant performances in The Hundred 2024 but the all-rounder leaked 45 runs in her four overs. Playing injured Pooja Vastrakar proved to be costly as well. She bowled only one over, giving away nine runs. Overall, the team must address multiple areas to return to winning ways.

Pakistan meanwhile defeated Asian champions Sri Lanka in their opening game. They suffered defeats in the warm-up games but managed to start the tournament on a positive note. Their players are due four months’ salary and the captaincy change was expected to hurt the team morale but that didn’t happen.

Captain Fatima Sana led by example and the bowlers too did a good job as Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by 31 runs. Sadia Iqbal was the star with the ball, with three wickets to her name.

IND-W vs PAK-W Match Details

Pitch Report

The surface in Dubai tends to help the batters. Even though the dew can play a part in the second innings, but batting first will be a wise decision, especially in such a high-voltage game. Anything over 160 can be decisive.

Head-To-Head Records

Also Check: Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Schedule

Probable Playing XIs

India Women:

If Pooja Vastrakar isn’t fit, India are likely to bench her against Pakistan. Sanjeevan Sajana can replace her in the playing XI. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side is unlikely to make any other changes in the playing XI.

Predicted XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, S Sajana, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh.

Pakistan Women:

Pakistan are unlikely to make any changes to their winning combination. They would hope the batters to be more consistent, especially playing on a good deck.

Predicted XI: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana (c), Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal.