Women's World Cup, formidable Australia meet struggling Pakistan: Match preview
What's the story
The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 will see Australia take on Pakistan in Match No. 9 at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on October 8. Australia come into this match after an impressive win against New Zealand in their opener. However, their last game against Sri Lanka got washed out. Meanwhile, Pakistan's first two fixtures saw them lose to India and Bangladesh. Here is the preview of the upcoming match.
Details
Pitch report, timing, and broadcast details
The R. Premadasa Stadium is known for its bowling-friendly pitches, as the recent clashes here have been low-scoring. However, fast bowlers can expect some assistance early on, while spinners will come into play as the game progresses. The match will start at 3:00pm IST and can be watched live on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar app/website.
Australia
Australia look to build momentum
Despite some key players like opener Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, and Annabel Sutherland not performing up to the mark, Ashleigh Gardner's century against New Zealand made it a one-sided affair. Australia will use this match against Pakistan as a chance to fine-tune, their game plan before facing tougher opponents such as England, India, and South Africa in the tournament.
Pakistan
Several concerns for Pakistan
As mentioned, Pakistan have struggled in the tournament, losing to Bangladesh and India. They are currently at the bottom of the table in the eight-team competition. The team's batting depth is a major concern as their scores in this competition read 129/10 and 159/10. Key players such as Sidra Amin, Fatima Sana, and Muneeba Ali have not been able to deliver consistent performances for Pakistan.
H2H
Australia dominate head-to-head record
The head-to-head record between these two teams heavily favors Australia. As per ESPNcricinfo, the Women in Yellow have played 16 ODIs against Pakistan, winning all of them without a single match ending in no result. The first encounter took place on February 7, 1997, and the last one was on January 21, 2023. Five of the Australia-Pakistan WODI clashes have taken place in World Cups.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
Australia probable XI: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Kim Garth, Alana King, Darcie Brown. Pakistan probable XI: Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (c), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
Stats
Here are the key performers
Sophie Molineux, who claimed a three-fer against NZ Women, has 26 WODI scalps at a sensational average of 13.69. Against NZ, Gardner completed her century off just 77 deliveries, making it the third-fastest in the tournament's history and the fastest by an Aussie batter. Last month, Nashra Sandhu became the first left-arm Asian spinner to take a six-wicket haul in a Women's ODI. With 599 runs at 74.87, Sidra Amin is Pakistan's leading run-getter in WODIs this year.
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