India vs Pakistan: Women's T20 Asia Cup rivalry renewed in Dubai
India and Pakistan's women's teams met on Saturday, September 5, in Dubai for a Women's T20 Asia Cup group match, with India already through to the semifinals and Pakistan chasing a confidence-boosting win.
The match in Dubai
On Saturday, September 5, India Women faced Pakistan Women in a Group A match of the DP World Women's T20 Asia Cup at Dubai International Stadium, Al Jazeera reports. The game began at 6:30pm local time (14:30 GMT); in India it was broadcast on Sony Sports Network from 8pm, according to AajTak.
According to Navbharat Times, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and chose to bat first — meaning India, who batted first in both of their earlier matches this tournament, bowled first this time.
Where both teams stand
Under captain Harmanpreet Kaur, India had won both of their previous matches convincingly and had already sealed a semifinal spot heading into this game. Pakistan, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a 35-run win over Thailand and sit second in the points table — a win over India would strengthen their own semifinal chances, Hindustan Times notes.
History favours India
The two sides have met 17 times in T20 Internationals, with India winning 14 and Pakistan 3, according to both Hindustan Times and Navbharat Times. Pakistan's most recent win over India came in 2022, by 13 runs, AajTak reports.
The teams' last meeting came at the 2024 Asia Cup in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, where India won by 7 wickets with 35 balls to spare, per AajTak. Pakistan, having chosen to bat first, were bowled out for just 108, with Sidra Ameen top-scoring on 25. India's openers, Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, then put on an 85-run partnership to seal the chase quickly.
Mandhana in form, Deepti Sharma's message
Mandhana arrived in strong form, having scored a century against Hong Kong in India's previous match — an innings that made her the leading run-scorer and most-capped centurion in women's international cricket, Navbharat Times reports.
At the pre-match press conference, India all-rounder Deepti Sharma, who has taken six wickets across India's two matches so far, played down talk of any special psychological edge but underlined India's consistent record against Pakistan: "We are always one step ahead of them," she said, adding that the team's focus was on keeping its batting and bowling balanced rather than dwelling on the opposition, according to Hindustan Times.
