India kick-start Women's T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan: Preview
What's the story
India will face Pakistan in their opening match of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, June 14, 2026. The game will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Kaur, India are looking to add a second global title to their trophy cabinet after winning the ODI World Cup last year. Here is the preview of the high-voltage game.
Details
Pitch report and other details
Edgbaston usually offers a good batting surface with plenty of pace and carry. This allows batters to play their shots freely. On Friday, hosts England scored an impressive 219/1 against Sri Lanka at the venue - the highest team total in Women's T20 World Cup history. However, the overcast conditions can assist seamers early on. Meanwhile, the match, which will get underway on 7:00pm IST, will be streamed live on JioHotstar and telecast on the Star Sports network.
Historical advantage
India's dominance over Pakistan in WT20Is
In WT20Is, India have been the dominant force with a stellar record against Pakistan. Of the 16 head-to-head clashes, India have won 13 while losing just three, as per ESPNcricinfo. The two teams have also faced each other in eight T20 World Cup matches, with India winning six. Their last WT20I meeting was at the 2024 WT20 World Cup in Dubai, where India won by six wickets.
Key players
Openers Mandhana, Shafali key to India's success
For a successful start, India will need their openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma to fire on all cylinders. Despite India's recent form with series wins over Australia and England, both players have struggled for runs in the past few matches. Their performance against Pakistan's captain Fatima Sana will be crucial to India's campaign in this tournament.
Opposition threat
Pakistan's Fatima Sana a threat to India
Fatima has been in excellent form, averaging over 50 with the bat and under 25 with the ball in the last year (WT20Is). Earlier this yea, she also recorded the fastest fifty in Women's T20Is, off just 15 balls against Zimbabwe. Her performance could pose a significant challenge to India's bowling attack, which will be without injured players Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam.
Batting strategy
Harmanpreet, Rodrigues, Ghosh among others need to fire for India
Along with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who has been in good form with two fifties against South Africa and England, India will rely on Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, and Bharti Fulmali to keep the runs flowing in the middle order. Notably, Kaur happens to be the most capped player in WT20I history. She also boasts a hundred in the Women's T20 World Cup.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
India (Probable XI): Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma, Radha Yadav. Pakistan (Probable XI): Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (c), Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Tuba Hassan, Sadia Iqbal, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu.
Poll
