Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss in Birmingham and, without much hesitation, chose to bat in the opening Group A match of the Women’s T20 World Cup. India’s XI showed a couple of surprises, most strikingly the omission of senior seamer Renuka Singh to make room for the extra pace of the uncapped Kranti Gaud.
Batting-all-rounder Bharti Fulmali, who has edged ahead of Yastika Bhatia in recent camps, also earned her first World Cup cap. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani completed a trio of debutants, giving India a three-strong spin battery alongside Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil.
Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana, admitted they would have batted too. Sana, sporting a light strapping after a knock in training, noted the surface looked a “good batting track”. Despite that hint, her side opted for the extra seamer in Tasmia Rubab, leaving out the experienced Diana Baig. Middle-order batter Saira Jabeen also debuted and was pencilled in at No. 4.
The build-up has not flattered Pakistan. Warm-up defeats to Scotland and Sri Lanka added to a lean run that features just one ODI series victory—against Zimbabwe—in the past two-and-a-half years. Sana, however, preferred to look forward. “We know we have a good bowling unit,” she said, before adding with a shrug, “We need to improve our batting.”
India approach the tournament in more settled fettle, though losing Renuka’s new-ball nous carries risk. Harmanpreet brushed that aside, saying the balance “felt right for today” and backing Gaud’s extra pace to exploit the Birmingham breeze.
Conditions: an early-summer afternoon, light cloud, a used surface, square boundaries slightly shorter towards the pavilion. Run-making should be comfortable early on; spinners may benefit once the ball softens.
Teams
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani.
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (capt), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Tasmia Rubab.
First ball is due shortly; India will hope their fresh faces settle quickly, Pakistan that their bowlers back up Sana’s optimism.
