CWC 2022 IND W vs PAK W Preview: Arch-rivals open campaign on Super Sunday

India vs Pakistan Preview: Mithali Raj's team take can't take Pakistan Women lightly as they beat New Zealand in a Warm-Up match, a team against which India Women have lost four out of last five games

In what is called the mother of all contests in cricket, India and Pakistan would be up against each other in a World Cup, only this time around, it is the women’s team representing both countries that will fight it out for the bragging rights at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. 

The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 is up and running in a fashion that wasn’t expected even in dreams. Of the three matches that have taken place so far, none have been one-sided and West Indies Women even pulled a surprise in the very first game as they beat the hosts and one of the top contenders for the trophy, New Zealand. 

Thus, India Women, led by Mithali Raj, could not afford to take their opponents lightly. Also given the fact that India have lost four out of its last five games against New Zealand Women and Pakistan beat the same side in their Warm-Up encounter by six wickets, makes India become all the more vigilant.  

India Women battling bowling woes

In the 16 ODI matches that India have played since the 16 month Covid hiatus that ended in 2021, they have won only four and have been beaten on all occasions by superior opponents such as South Africa, (home), England, Australia and New Zealand (Away). 

But in all those matches, the Indian Women’s bowling unit, led by veteran Jhulan Goswami wasn’t able to restrict the opposition to a paltry total and wasn’t even able to defend totals as big as in excess of 250. 

Therefore, the likes of Goswami and newcomers, Meghna Singh and Renuka Singh Thakur in the pace department and Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma in the spin, have their tasks cut out. 

Pakistan Women’s Main Strength

Pakistan won their World Cup warm-up game on the back of some excellent bowling by Nashra Sandhu and some patient and exciting batting from their skipper Bismah Maroof, Nida Dar and Aliya Riyaz. These four players along with Diana Beg in bowling and Javeria Khan in batting form the core of the Pakistan Women’s team and can cause worries for India. 

India W vs Pakistan W Bay Oval Pitch Report

The India Women vs Pakistan Women match will be played at the same venue where the first game of the tournament was played between New Zealand Women and West Indies Women i.e. at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui. The pitch there assisted spin bowlers as Hayley Matthews and Anisa Mohammed of West Indies were able to find purchase off the surface. 

But on the whole, it is a true wicket and the ball comes nicely to the bat, giving full opportunity for batters to score big. 

Ind W vs Pak W Mount Maunganui Weather Update 

Bay of Plenty, where the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui is situated in Tauranga, will have pleasant weather when the match begins at 02:00 pm Local time and 06:30 am IST. The temperatures would hover between 23 Degree Celsius and 20 Degree Celcius throughout the game. There will be more than 40% cloud cover but there are no chances of rain. 

CWC India vs Pakistan: What did the captain say?

Mithali Raj, India Women Captain

“The only advice I would give the young players is enjoy the big stage because if you pile up the pressure you may not be playing the best that the team and you would want to do in the World Cup."

Bismah Maroof, Pakistan Women Captain

"We arrive in New Zealand well prepared, with our eyes set on one of the four semi-final spots. We have never made it to the knockouts of any World Cup across the two formats, but that does not mean that time will never come."

India Women vs Pakistan Women Head to Head

Format	Matches	India Women Won	Pakistan Women Won
ODIs (Overall)	10	10	00
In World Cup (ODIs)	03	03	00

India Women Predicted Playing 11

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sneh Rana/ Poonam Yadav

Pakistan Women Predicted Playing 11

Nahida Khan, Sidra Ameen, Javeria Khan, Bismah Maroof (capt), Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Anam Amin, Nashra Sandhu

India Women Squad CWC 2022

Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt) Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Taniya Bhatia, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh Thakur, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 

Travelling reserves: S Meghana, Ekta Bisht, Simran Dil Bahadur

Pakistan Women Squad CWC 2022

Bismah Maroof (capt), Nida Dar, Aiman Anwer, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Ameen, Sidra Nawaz