Women's T20 WC, India vs Pakistan: Preview, stats, Fantasy XI
India will kick-start their ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday (February 12). Both teams are seeking their maiden title and would like to make a winning start to their campaign. Notably, the Women in Blue were the runners-up of the previous WT20 WC in 2020. Pakistan haven't yet reached the semi-finals of the competition. Here's the match preview.
Pitch report, timing, and broadcast details
The Newlands in Cape Town will host the Group B duel. Only four T20Is have been played at this venue with the chasing team winning twice. Batters have had a hard time playing here with the average first-innings score being just 120. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network (6:30 PM IST) and live-streamed on Disney+Hotstar (paid subscription).
Here's the head-to-head record
India have firmly dominated Pakistan in the WT20Is. The two sides have so far crossed swords in 13 games with India emerging winners on 10 occasions. Only three matches were clinched by Pakistan. In T20 WCs, the Women in Blue boast a 4-2 win-loss record against their arch-nemesis. India recorded a 13-run when these two sides last met in the format, in October 2022.
Smriti Mandhana gets ruled out
Indian opener Smriti Mandhana will miss the clash due to a finger injury. The onus of scoring runs will hence be on the likes of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali Verma. Shikha Pandey and Renuka Singh are the key bowlers. Skipper Bismah Maroof will hold the key for Pakistan in the batting department. Nida Dar is their bowler to watch out for.
Here are the key players
Harmanpreet's tally of 2,940 runs across 146 matches at 28.26 is the fifth-highest for any batter in WT20Is. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet's counterpart Maroof stands ninth on the same list with 2,560 runs in 29 games at 26.66. With 121 wickets in 126 games at 18.09, Nida Dar is the second-leading wicket-taker in WT20Is. For India, Deepti Sharma owns 96 wickets in 87 games at 19.03.
Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Options
Fantasy XI (Options 1): Richa Ghosh, Ayesha Naseem, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Nida Dar (VC), Deepti Sharma, Kainat Imtiaz, Sana Fatima, Pooja Vastrakar, Radha Yadav Fantasy XI (Options 2): Richa Ghosh, Bismah Maroof (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma (C), Harmanpreet Kaur, Nida Dar, Deepti Sharma, Kainat Imtiaz, Sana Fatima, Sadia Iqbal, Radha Yadav
