After a horrific start to the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the Indian women’s cricket team will be up against arch-rivals Pakistan in the next game.
India suffered a big 58-run defeat against New Zealand in the first match with both the batting and bowling departments failing massively.
India’s run rate currently stands at a poor -2.99 and it makes big victories mandatory for them in the remaining three matches against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Australia.
India is up against Pakistan who are high on confidence after beating a strong Sri Lanka in the first match on Thursday.
The Indian team had to sort out the combinations as the management went with an extra bowler in the first game which resulted in skipper Harmanpreet Kaur coming at number three and Jemimah Rodrigues coming at number four messing up the batting order.
It turned out to be a fatal move as Harmanpreet has never made a fifty in her previous 19 gigs at this batting position.
However, the inclusion of three pacers was the right move as the Kiwi pacers made full use of the hard deck while the Indian pacers struggled.
Harmanpreet Kaur also made a questionable decision of just giving one over to Pooja Vastrakar who has been in fine form the whole year.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar will need to sit in front of the whiteboard and sort out the combination as any unfavorable result will hamper India’s chances of moving to the semifinals.
Talking about the rivals, though India has a head-to-head edge over Pakistan in T20Is, winning 12 out of 15 matches so far, they have the ammunition to stun any opposition.
Their bowling is especially formidable with the likes of experienced Nida Dhar, captain Fatima Sana, and Sadia Iqbal leading the pack.
However, Pakistan will keep a close eye on the fitness lead pacer Diana Baig after she suffered a calf strain in the match against Sri Lanka, limping out after bowling just one ball.
It will be an interesting battle between both rivals with India on the backfoot at the moment.