Vulnerable India look to halt Pakistan's progress

Never before in this decade have India gone into a T20 World Cup match against Pakistan with pressure on their back, and wind knocked out of their sails so early in the competition. It isn't doomsday yet for the Group A heavyweights, but Pakistan's opening day victory over reigning Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka followed by their own NRR-gutting 58-run loss at the hands of New Zealand has lent this otherwise superficial rivalry some meaningful context. Come Sunday (October 6), a high-on-confidence Pakistan would be waiting to take a stab at wounded India in what is a landmark game for Dubai.

Given the conviction exhibited by the Indian management in its rejigged top-six in the build up to the tournament, any changes to their batting order could be perceived as a knee-jerk reaction after a shock opening defeat. It was, after all, a rare blip in an otherwise solid World Cup cycle for their batters led by Smriti Mandhana (703) and Shafali Verma (617) up top who both fare among the top-10 scorers in this period. However, with their campaign in a precarious spot and a turnaround time of under 48 hours between games, India would want their batters to hit their straps quickly. India could take a leaf out of New Zealand's book and look to spread out their best or most experienced batters to cover for contingencies, like what unfolded on Friday night.

Which begs a question: did India mend something which was never broken to plug another gap? In restoring to factory settings by reinstating Harmanpreet Kaur at no. 4, and bringing in another left-hander (Yastika Bhatia) to the line-up, India could potentially go in best prepared to negate Pakistan's biggest threat - their left-arm spin twin

Sadia Iqbal and Nashra Sandhu rarely get the recognition they deserve, but together the duo have accounted for 59 wickets in 27 games this World Cup cycle for Pakistan. The pair claimed a combined 5 for 32 in the 31-run loss Pakistan inflicted on Sri Lanka with Sandhu cleaning up the young guns, and Sadia rummaging through the opponents' experienced lower middle-order to restrict them to 85 for 9.

The one-sidedness of this rivalry may still rear its ugly head after all the ballyhoo. After all, India comfortably lead 12-3 in the 15 meetings against Pakistan in the shortest format, their rivalry limited to World Cups and Asia Cups only. Pakistan's last victory against their neighbours came in the 2022 Asia Cup, but never would have India seemed so vulnerable before. The next stop in the Fatima Sana-led Pakistan upward trajectory could be gate-crashing India's party.

When: Sunday, October 6 at 6 PM Local | 7:30 PM IST

Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

What to expect: Temperature to be in the mid-30s making it a hot afternoon. There's only been one day game in Dubai so far this World Cup, and West Indies managed a lowly 118 for 6 due to the lack of application from their batters. The batting did seem to get easier as the game progressed in the setting sun. Chasing could therefore be the captain's choice at toss.

Team News

India: Full-strength India turned up for their pre-match training that focused equally on nets as on the fielding drills. Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh had a dedicated high-catching session. Radha Yadav, who did not feature against New Zealand, spent most of the day on the sidelines. While that's barely an accurate indicator of her match-readiness, the left-arm spinner had bowled only four overs across the two official warm-ups. If India seek diversity in their spin attack, her inclusion could be on the cards.

Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil/Yastika Bhatia, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Thakur

Pakistan: After sustaining a calf injury on Thursday, Diana Baig was on rest on the eve of the big game and remains a doubtful starter. A decision on her availability will be taken closer to match start.

Probable XI: Mubeena Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Omaima Sohail, Nida Dar, Fatima Sana (C), Tuba Hassan, Aliya Riaz, Syeda Aroob Shah, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal

Did you know?

- The India-Pakistan clash is set to become a part of venue history as this will be the 100th T20I hosted by Dubai International Cricket Stadium, of which 92 have been the men's games.

- Sadia Iqbal is the leading wicket-taker in T20Is in this World Cup cycle with 39 scalps in 27 innings at 5.59.

- Harmanpreet Kaur needs 59 runs to become the second Indian in the top-three of the all-time leading run-scores in WT20Is, after Smriti Mandhana (3505).

- Shafali Verma is 50 runs away from entering the 2000-run club.

What they said

"When you go in with six bowling options, it's bound to happen," - India bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi on under-bowling Pooja Vastrakar

"We have always wanted to play attacking cricket. Whichever team we played against would attack our bowlers from the word go. I wanted our team to have batters who can punish the bowlers from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the results soon hopefully." - Pakistan captain Fatima Sana on what brand of cricket she wanted her team to play