Dubai: Diana Baig and Pooja Vastrakar won’t be seen in action as Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the Group A match of 2024 Women’s T20 World at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
India enters Sunday’s match with a net run rate denting 58-run loss to New Zealand, while Pakistan comes in with a satisfying 31-run win over Sri Lanka. The match, to be played on a fresh pitch, is also the 100th T20I game to be played at the venue in Dubai.
Diana had to go off the field after bowling just one ball against Sri Lanka due to a likely calf injury. With her not being fit, Pakistan have drafted in leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah into the playing eleven.
“We will bat first, put up a total on the board. It’s a big blow (of Diana not playing), but we’ve players who can do well in her absence. We’ll try to put up a good total here. I’m excited to lead Pakistan against India,” said Pakistan captain Fatima Sana.
For India, with Pooja having a niggle, hard-hitting all-rounder Sajeevan Sajana comes into the playing eleven. “We would have batted first as well, but we’ll have to bowl well and restrict them. We’ll have to move forward with a positive approach, it’s always how you bounce back and we’ve spoken about it. We will go out there and play some positive cricket,” stated skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Sajeevan Sajana, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and Renuka Singh Thakur
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana (c), Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah and Sadia Iqbal
–IANS