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Who: India vs Pakistan
What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025
When: Sunday, October 5 astatine 09:30 GMT
Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport volition person unrecorded build-up from 06:30 GMT up of our substance commentary stream.
Cricket could instrumentality the backseat connected yet different Sunday erstwhile India conscionable Pakistan successful the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 successful Colombo amid lingering governmental hostility betwixt the South Asian neighbours.
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The eagerly awaited group-stage fixture volition apt beryllium bookended by questions surrounding the now-infamous handshakes betwixt some sides arsenic the captains conscionable astatine the pre-match coin toss, and astatine the extremity of the match, erstwhile some squads traditionally measurement backmost connected the field.
When India and Pakistan’s men’s teams met successful the Asia Cup 2025, the Indian squad and its skipper did not shingle hands with their Pakistani counterparts successful each 3 fixtures astatine the tournament, starring to furore and backlash that marred the tournament.
A apical authoritative of the Board for Control of Cricket successful India (BCCI) has not ruled retired a “no handshake” argumentation for the Women’s World Cup fixture, arsenic well.
“Whether determination volition beryllium handshakes, whether determination volition beryllium hugging, I cannot guarantee you of anything,” BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told the BBC’s Stumped podcast.
“I cannot forecast anything, but our narration with that peculiar hostile state is the same. There is nary alteration successful the past week.”
‘Focus connected the game’
While it whitethorn look that cricket has been, erstwhile again, pushed into the background, some teams privation to place the arguable build-up and absorption connected the crippled instead.
“Obviously, we cognize what’s happening astir us, but we effort to enactment focused connected the crippled due to the fact that the World Cup is an lawsuit each subordinate waits for,” Pakistan’s skipper Fatima Sana said connected Saturday.
Sana, whose squad were comprehensively beaten by Bangladesh successful their opening match, said Pakistan volition “focus connected the tourney and connected what we person travel present for” erstwhile asked to remark connected the “outside noise”.
The past clip India played Pakistan astatine the Women’s World Cup, the players’ off-field interactions near an indelible people connected the crippled and earned wide praise from the fans.
At the 2022 tourney successful New Zealand, Pakistan’s then-captain Bismah Maroof was surrounded by a radical of Indian players arsenic they cooed implicit her six-month-old girl Fatima.
Jokes were shared, selfies were taken, and memories were made arsenic players from the rival nations bonded extracurricular their dressing rooms good aft the lucifer was over.
Sana, who was portion of the Pakistan squad successful 2022, was asked whether the players volition miss the tone and camaraderie from 3 years ago.
“We effort to support steadfast relationships with each team,” Sana replied.
“What happened with Bismah’s daughter, erstwhile everyone mingled and enjoyed unneurotic – arsenic players, we each similar specified moments, but the main happening is to enactment focused [on the game].”
When the aforesaid question was posed to India’s bowling manager Aavishankar Salvi, the writer was notified that India volition not reply it.
However, Salvi did accidental that India – who bushed Sri Lanka successful their opening crippled by 59 runs – volition besides “focus connected the cricket” connected Sunday.
#Throwback to this beauteous infinitesimal from the 2022 World Cup involving Bismah Maroof's girl and Indian girls ❤️#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/PuxFEC5O1Y
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) April 25, 2024
‘The satellite volition beryllium watching’
“We privation our girls to instrumentality it conscionable arsenic a crippled due to the fact that the World Cup is simply a agelong run and determination volition beryllium a batch of games coming our way,” helium said.
“When you participate a large tournament, the country of absorption is lone cricket, and it’s bully to person the players into a bully [head] space.”
The fixture is expected to gully immense viewing figures and organisers volition expect a sizeable assemblage astatine the ground, arsenic well.
Sana, who besides led Pakistan successful their lucifer against India successful the T20 World Cup 2024, admitted specified factors marque it a high-pressure fixture and 1 that “the full satellite volition beryllium watching”.
“There is unit but the main happening is however we grip it. We’ll effort to absorption connected our game, execute our plans, and play the mode we’ve prepared.”
What happened successful the past India vs Pakistan women’s cricket match?
The teams past met successful the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 successful Dubai, wherever India emerged victorious by six wickets.
When was the past clip Pakistan bushed India successful women’s cricket?
Pakistan person lone beaten India connected 3 occasions, the past of which came connected October 7 astatine the T20 Women’s Asia Cup 2022. Nida Dar’s all-round show sealed Pakistan’s 13-run triumph successful Bangladesh.
Will it rainfall successful Colombo during the India vs Pakistan match?
Rain is expected successful the aboriginal hours of Sunday successful Khettarama, the neighbourhood that houses the R Premadasa Stadium successful Sri Lanka’s capital.
The upwind volition stay cloudy passim the day, with airy showers expected to instrumentality aboriginal successful the evening, arsenic well. This could pb to delays oregon disruption of play.
There was plentifulness of rainfall connected Saturday earlier Sri Lanka’s lucifer against Australia astatine the aforesaid venue. The persistent rainfall led to the lucifer being called disconnected without immoderate play.
The crushed astatine the R Premadasa Stadium remained covered connected Saturday arsenic Sri Lanka vs Australia was abandoned owed to rainfall [Ishara S Kodikara/AFP]India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head successful women’s ODIs
India clasp an 11-0 pb implicit their neighbours successful women’s ODIs. All of India’s wins person travel with comfy margins, including the 107-run triumph astatine the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 successful New Zealand.
Players to watch: India
- Smriti Mandhana: Widely regarded arsenic the champion limited-over batters successful present-day women’s cricket, Mandhana has swept astir women’s ODI records successful the past 2 years. She is the top-ranked ODI batter by a region and was the starring run-scorer successful the format successful 2024. The Indian vice-captain has scored 4 ODI centuries successful 2025, the astir by immoderate subordinate successful the existent year.
- Deepti Sharma: The all-rounder poses an adjacent menace with bat and ball, and has performed good against Pakistan successful erstwhile encounters. Sharma’s right-arm off-break bowling volition beryllium a large menace for Pakistan’s batters. She took 3 wickets and scored 54 runs successful India’s World Cup opening triumph against Sri Lanka connected Tuesday.
Players to watch: Pakistan
- Sidra Amin: The seasoned batter precocious became the apical ODI century-maker for her state with her sixth ton successful the bid against South Africa. She comes into the important lucifer with bully run-scoring signifier and is regarded arsenic the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting onslaught against a beardown Indian bowling line-up.
- Nashra Sandhu: The unassuming dilatory left-arm bowler has been Pakistan’s go-to rotation enactment successful caller years and is 3rd connected the database of apical ODI wicket-takers for her country. Sandhu has taken 16 wickets successful Pakistan’s 9 ODIs successful 2025, including six successful a lucifer against South Africa connected September 22.
Form guide: India
India entered the World Cup with a location bid nonaccomplishment and an distant bid triumph successful the bag. They were tested by Sri Lanka successful the tournament’s opening game, but recovered good to statesman their World Cup run with a win.
Last 5 ODIs (latest effect first): W L W L W L
Form guide: Pakistan
Pakistan’s signifier has dipped aft their five-match unbeaten tally astatine location successful the World Cup qualifiers, wherever they bushed Bangladesh, Thailand and the West Indies to publication a spot successful this tournament. Sana’s squad mislaid a location ODI bid to South Africa and past suffered a melodramatic batting illness successful their opening World Cup crippled against Bangladesh.
Last 5 ODIs (latest effect first): L W L L W
Team news: India
India are expected to sanction an unchanged XI for their 2nd lucifer of the tournament.
Predicted XI: Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani.
Team news: Pakistan
Pakistan are apt to tract the aforesaid XI that mislaid to Bangladesh, but determination could beryllium a lawsuit for replacing Natalia Pervaiz with in-form all-rounder Aroob Shah.
Predicted XI: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper), Fatima Sana (captain), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
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