India have never lost to Pakistan in the Women's World Cup.
Different formats, same actions! From the Men’s Asia Cup to the Women’s World Cup 2025, a lot has changed including the formats and the tournament. But the handshake saga in the IND vs PAK fixture continues. As India geared to take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the Women’s World Cup in Colombo, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur walked on the same path on which Suryakumar Yadav did a few weeks ago.
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl. Both the captains took turns for the interview, but did not shake hands after it. This comes on the back of the rising political tensions between the two neighbouring countries. The Men’s team made it a point to not shake hands with the Pakistanis even after the game, and the Women in Blue are expected to do the same.
The repercussions of what unfolded in the Final of the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 have been massive. Mohsin Naqvi, the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), has not handed over the trophy to the Indians after they became champions. This was after the team communicated that they wouldn’t be taking the trophy from the hands of Naqvi.
Though the Women in Blue are coming fresh off a victory, their counterparts are in a need of one. They were swept away by Bangladesh in their opening fixture of the campaign. The Women in Green were skittled out for a mere 129 against Bangladesh. To add to that, their bowling could not pose any threat apart from the opening burst from Diana Baig.
Omaima Sohail and Sidra Amin were both dismissed for golden ducks, and will be hoping to bounce back stronger against India. A problem for the Pakistani women has been their ability to convert starts into substantial scores. Their middle-order was able to get good starts, but failed to put big runs on the board. They will be itching to rectify those mistakes against India.
On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. will come into the fixture with a lot of confidence. Their fixture against Sri Lanka went well. Though they experienced a middle-order collapse, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur recovered well to get the team to a competitive total. Apart from Chamari Athapaththu and Nilakshika Silva, none of the others could get going. Deepti Sharma shone with the ball too, picking three wickets.
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India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani, Renuka Singh.
Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (capt), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
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