India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, chose to bat first against Pakistan in their Group A match of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup. Bharti Fulmali was included in the Indian squad, while Yastika Bhatia was left out for this game. Notably, there was no handshake between the captains at the toss, continuing the trend from past encounters.
The Indian team, fresh from their victory in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, is banking on three spinners and two medium pacers for this crucial game. Harmanpreet expressed confidence in her team’s abilities, aiming to replicate the success from the previous World Cup. She highlighted the importance of playing good cricket and the decision to bring in Bharti for this match.
On the other side, Pakistan’s captain Fatima Sana revealed that Saira Jabeen will make her T20 World Cup debut in this match. Opting to bowl first if they had won the toss, Pakistan is focusing on improving their batting performance while relying on their strong bowling unit. Sana emphasized the balance in their team and the challenge of facing India on what seems to be a batting-friendly pitch.
The playing XIs for the match are as follows:
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, N Sree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, and Arundhati Reddy
Pakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (captain), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Tasmia Rubab, and Sadia Iqbal
