India vs Pakistan
Dambulla, July 19, 7:00 p.m. (local time)
India and Pakistan – Recent Forms
Let’s take a look at last year’s issue.
India are number one. This is purely alphabetical. They have played 17 T20Is in this period and have a record of 10 wins and 5 losses (two of them ended scoreless). They were top of the table when they beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Asian Games final in Hangzhou to win the gold medal. Then they lost back-to-back games to England and Australia at home, swept Bangladesh 5-0 in Sylhet and most recently, a three-match series against South Africa in Chennai ended 1-1, the second game being called off after an innings.
Pakistan actually played more T20I cricket matches during the same period, completing 19 matches. However, they lost 12 of them and won only 7. Before the Asian Games, they had a fantastic result at home against South Africa, beating them 3-0. The Asian Games were nothing special. They made it to the semi-finals as expected, but lost to Sri Lanka there and then to Bangladesh in the bronze medal match. They then lost the T20I series in Bangladesh, then to West Indies at home and most recently to England, where they were swept 3-0. Their only series win came in New Zealand, where they won 2-1 late last year.
India vs Pakistan – Head to Head
There have been 14 matches between the two teams over the years, but for some unknown reason, there has never been a bilateral series. The only time a match has been played between the two countries was during the 2016 T20 World Cup, when Pakistan beat India by two runs in a rain-shortened match in Delhi. However, that is one of three matches Pakistan have won against India in T20Is. India have won 11 of them.
And in the Asia Cup too, India have a huge lead. They have won five of their six matches against Pakistan. However, the last Asia Cup match that Pakistan won was in Sylhet in 2022.
For India, Smriti Mandana and Shafali Verma form a devastating opening pair. Usually the longer batsman of the two, Mandana has scored 3320 T20I runs at an average of 28.13 and a strike rate of 121.83. Shafali’s corresponding figures are 1748, 24.27 and 129.48. Getting rid of one of them quickly is often not enough for the opposition. They both need to be eliminated quickly.
Pakistan’s star is captain Nida Dar, a bowling all-rounder who can take a wicket and score useful runs whenever he bowls. And Sidra Amin is in the middle of a purple patch with the bat. She has scored 205 runs in eight innings this year.
In India and Sri Lanka, the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup will be broadcast on Star Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website in India. (ESPNcricinfo and Disney Star are part of The Walt Disney Company.)
