India face New Zealand in their opening encounter of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The Women in Blue are placed in Group A alongside Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, they will be looking to shrug off the disappointment of the Asia Cup loss and start on a winning note.

India’s preparations for this World Cup have gone well, the team having won both their warm-up games. 

On the other hand, the White Ferns are also a strong contender for the trophy and will be looking to begin the tournament positively. However, a strong batting line-up gives India a slight edge over New Zealand in this encounter, despite the Kiwis usually performing well in the big tournaments.

The pitch in Dubai is known to assist both batters and bowlers, though initially there will be a bit of bounce for the seamers to exploit, becoming easier to bat on during the middle overs. Dew may also play a big part in the proceedings, so whoever wins the toss will likely look to bowl first.

Fantasy XI

Smriti Mandhana, Suzie Bates, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Amelia Kerr, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Renuka Thakur, Lea Tahuhu, Jess Kerr

Venue: Dubai 
Winners Prediction: India  

Also read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Sponsors