Women's ODI World Cup: Can Pakistan overcome India in Colombo?
What's the story
The highly-anticipated ICC Women's ODI World Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan is set to take place on Sunday, October 5 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The last time these two teams met in an ODI World Cup, India won by a whopping 107 runs. Pakistan are out to end their jinx against India in Women's ODIs. They have never beaten India in 11 matches overall. Here's more.
Match preview
Batting woes for Pakistan; India's top order yet to fire
India have made a strong start to the tournament, with their lower-order batting coming through against Sri Lanka. However, they will be hoping for their top order to fire as well. On the other hand, Pakistan have been struggling with their batting. They were bowled out for just 129 by Bangladesh on Thursday. Despite having in-form batters like Sidra Amin and Muneeba Ali, Pakistan's players have not been consistent against high-quality bowling like India's.
Key players
Who are the key players?
India's spin-bowling trio of Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, and Shree Charani have been in great form. They were instrumental in India's victory over Sri Lanka, with Rana taking three wickets for 31 runs. Meanwhile, Pakistan will be hoping for Sidra Amin to find her rhythm after a stellar performance against South Africa earlier this month. Despite being bowled out on Thursday, Amin remains the backbone of Pakistan's batting lineup this year.
Weather forecast
Weather forecast for the contest
The northeast monsoon has arrived in Colombo, bringing day-long rains to the city. This could impact the match between India and Pakistan. Notably, the match between Sri Lanka and Australia on Saturday was abadoned due to rain. In their last match, both Pakistan and Bangladesh's seamers found movement in the air and off the surface due to rain. It remains to be seen how things shape up after heavy rainfall on Saturday.
Probable XIs
Here are the probable XIs
Predicted playing XI for India: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (w), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani. Predicted playing XI for Pakistan: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (w), Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal.
Stats
Player focus: Decoding the key stats
In 109 WODI matches, Smriti Mandhana owns 4,896 runs at 47.53. She has hit 13 tons and 32 fifties. Jemimah Rodrigues is 43 runs shy of the 1,500-run mark for India. Harleen Deol owns 929 runs in WODIs and is 71 shy of the 1,000-run mark. In 113 matches, Deepti has taken 143 wickets at 28.19. Pakistan skipper Fatima completed 50 WODI matches in the previous outing. She has 615 runs from 42 innings.