Cricket’s biggest rivalry is here at the World Cup
One of cricket’s greatest rivalries, two powerhouses, India and Pakistan will be kicking off the action on Sunday in Dubai with both teams coming into the game off the back of two very contrasting results.
Ahead of the India – Pakistan clash, here’s our match preview and predictions.
One of the favourites, India faced New Zealand in their opening game and it was a very ordinary performance from Harmanpreet Kaur and co. as they were comprehensively beaten by New Zealand. The Kiwis had their captain Sophie Devine lead from the front and with Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer giving the team a perfect platform which saw New Zealand get to a healthy 160/4 in their 20 overs. Barring Renuka Singh, who picked up a couple of wickets and some economical bowling from the veteran legbreaker Asha Sobhana, the Indian bowlers were off the mark with Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil getting quite the stick.
India’s batting never ever got going with Kaur being the highest scorer with 15 as the power packed lineup of Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues all fell to the Kiwi seamers which saw India go down by 58 runs.
Pakistan on the other hand, started like India, with a poor performance with the bat in their opening game against Sri Lanka. Barring some runs from Nida Dar and their captain Fatima Sana, Pakistan’s batting unit was missing as well as they were bundled out for 116 but Sana led from the front with the ball and was supported well by the spinners of Sadia Iqbal, Omaima Sohail and Nashra Sandhu, who managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 85 to see Pakistan steal a 31 run win even after scoring a paltry 116!
Playing at the Dubai ground, where India played their first match, it will once again be a strong playground for the bowlers and even though they suffered a big loss in their opening game, team India hold the advantage and we go with Harmanpreet Kaur and co. to get the win in this game.
Fantasy XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Muneeba Ali, Harmanpreet Kaur, Nida Dar, Deepti Sharma, Fatima Sana, Diana Baig, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Singh, Sadia Iqbal
Venue: Dubai
Winners Prediction: India
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