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The Harmanpreet Kaur-led Team India are taking on arch-rivals, Pakistan in their second Group A fixture of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. While the Women in Green are coming after winning their tournament opener against Sri Lanka Women by 31 runs, the India Women suffered a daunting defeat at the hands of New Zealand Women by 58 runs on Friday, October 4.
While the Women in Blue will be eyeing a win from here on in all their remaining three matches, including their last league stage match against the defending champions, Australia, they will hope to get a win by a comprehensive margin against Pakistan, against whom they have a superior head-to-head record of 5-2 in Women’s T20 World Cups.
S Sajana replaces Pooja Vastrakar in IND vs PAK WT20 WC 2024
But ahead of the match, the side received a big blow as they missed the services of bowling all-rounder, Pooja Vastrakar. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at toss revealed that Vastrakar is struggling with a niggle and will thus miss the match. However, she named S Sajana as her replacement for the do-or-die fixture.
“We were also looking to bat. We have a good opportunity. We have one change, Pooja is not playing. She has a small niggle. This stage we have to look forward with a positive approach. Always about how we bounce back. We just want to play positive cricket,” Harmanpreet Kaur said while confirming an injury to Pooja Vastrakar.
Diana Baig misses out; Ayeda Aroob Shah named replacement
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Women also took the field with one change as Diana Baig was forced to sit out with an injury. After winning the toss, Fatima Sana, skipper of Pakistan women’s team said, “We will bat first, put up a total on the board. Diana Baig misses out, that's the only change, she's replaced by Arooba. 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.”
India vs Pakistan Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Playing XI
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, S Sajana, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur Singh
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana (C), Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah, Sadia Iqbal
