In Match 6 of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025, the Women in Blue are back in action as India get set to face off with their arch-rivals and forever enemies Pakistan from the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. India vs Pakistan clashes is not just a cricket game anymore as other things also affect it now from geopolitical situation and all things. But we will stick to cricket as the man criteria to distinguish between the two sides.
India and Pakistan began their campaign in contrasting fashion. While India defeated Sri Lanka after suffering a minor scare, Pakistan were disappointing with the bat and as a result suffered a shock but convincing defeat to Bangladesh. Both teams will aim for bagging rights here in this clash. India led by Harmanpreet Kaur while Pakistan will be led by Fatima Sana.
Overview
India and Pakistan are facing each other for the fourth time in as many weeks on a Sunday but this time in a different format and genre when the stakes are high and the players of both teams will be up for it. The No handshake policy will take centre-stage and will create unnecessary controversy yet again. The BCCI has given advice and Indian Women’s Team have no choice but to follow guidelines at this stage.
Coming back to cricket, both teams have faced against each other 11 times with India emerging on top on every occasion. Pakistan has a chance to change that and upset the apple cards tonight for sure. The weather forecast for this game is dodgy and isn’t promising. Rain is expected to play spoilsport just like it did in the game between Sri Lanka and Australia on Saturday.
India, the hosts of the tournament, started their campaign with a win over Sri Lanka in Guwahati in a rain affected game. The Women in Blue were asked to bat first and they suffered an early blow as Smriti Mandhana fell cheaply inside the powerplay. Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol then stitched a 67-run stand for the second wicket stand but that partnership lacked intent. India then lost three wickets in quick succession and were in trouble at 124/6 at one stage.
Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur added 103 runs for the 7th wicket to bail the hosts out of trouble. Half-centuries from both all-rounders took India to 269/8 in 47 overs. With the ball, Deepti Sharma bagged three, while Sneh Rana and Sree Charani got two wickets apiece. Kranti Goud, Amanjot Kaur, and Pratika Rawal all chipped in with a wicket each as well to bowl out Sri Lanka for 211 in 45.4 overs.
On the other hand, Pakistan are coming into this game after losing to Bangladesh in their opening clash. The Women in Green were outclassed in every department of the game. Pakistan batted first and lost two wickets in the first over, including Sidra Ameen who has been in fine form in the recent past. They never recovered from that and were bowled out for a paltry total of 129. Rameen Shamim top-scored with a knock of 23. Fatima Sana, the captain made 22 off 33 and was the next best batter on the day.
With the ball, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana and Rameen Shamim all picked up one wicket each but it wasn’t enough as Bangladesh got over the line with 18.5 overs to spare.
India did not play Renuka Singh Thakur in the last game. Harmanpreet Kaur mentioned that it was a tactical call to leave her out. India might be tempted to play her, especially after seeing what Marufa Akter did against Pakistan batters with the new ball.
The stage is set and it remains to be seen whether India can remain unbeaten against Pakistan or will the Women in Green pull off a monumental upset?
Head-To-Head.
India and Pakistan have played against each other in 11 matches and it has been India who have come out on top winning all 11 games. Can Pakistan pull off a surprise? Only time will tell.
Pitch & Weather Report.
The pitch at the Premadasa Stadium may have moisture as the pitch was under covers in the washed out game last night. There will be some lateral movement for the fast bowlers when play gets underway while spinners will have a role in the middle overs. The pitch is decent in general. With weather around, the captain winning the toss may opt to chase with DLS calculations coming into play.
According to the weather forecast, showers are expected in the morning in Colombo with cloudy weather expected to prevail for the rest of the day. There are chances of rain in the evening which can cause interruptions. But the forecast is better and we may not have a total washout like Australia Sri Lanka game. Chasing will be easier tonight for either teams.
Predicted/Probable Playing XIs of both sides:
India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Renuka Singh Thakur.
Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Ameen, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (c), Sidra Nawaz (wk), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig, Sadia Iqbal.
Key Players to watch out for in this clash
Smriti Mandhana: Smriti Mandhana might have missed out on the opening game and got out cheaply. But she will be hungry to bounce back and what better way to bounce than to score runs against Pakistan. She is the glue at the top of the order and if she gets going, then Pakistan will find it tough. Smriti has the ability to go big and take the game away from the opposition and that is what she will aim to do in Colombo.
Deepti Sharma: India’s Number one all-rounder Deepti Sharma has an important role to play with bat and ball in hand. With bat, she can either be the finisher or rescue the innings and steady the ship like she did last game. Deepti is handy with ball in hand and can take crucial wickets. Her all-round game will be key for India in upstaging Pakistan in this game.
Muneeba Ali: Batting at the top of the order, Muneeba Ali would like to give the team a quick start and go on with it. While wickets fell at one end, Muneeba got a bit of a start but gave it away. She will hope to do well and help the struggling Pakistan team to put the runs on the board and then put pressure on the opposition. Muneeba needs runs for the others to do well.
Sadia Iqbal: Sadia Iqbal is Pakistan’s premier spinner and form bowler with the ball. Sadia has put in consistent performances recently and can put the pressure on India. Her bowling in the middle overs will be important. In the last game, she blew cold with the ball, but that happens as Pakistan were defending a paltry score. Sadia will be hoping her batters can put a decent score on the board so that she can weave her magic and choke the Indians in the middle overs.
Key Stats/Records to watch out for in this clash
- Smriti Mandhana needs 104 runs to complete 5000 ODI runs and 6 fours to complete 600 ODI fours.
- Deepti Sharma requires 1 four to reach 250 ODI fours.
- Jemimah Rodrigues needs 43 runs to complete 1500 ODI runs.
- Richa Ghosh is 88 runs short of 1000 ODI runs and needs 3 fours to complete 100 ODI fours.
- Aliya Riaz needs 4 fours to reach 150 ODI fours.
- Sidra Nawaz requires 52 runs to complete 500 ODI runs.
- Nashra Sandhu who has 104 wickets needs 5 more to surpass Nida Dar who has 108 wickets and become Pakistan Women’s second highest wicket-taker in ODIs, behind only Sana Mir who has 151 wickets.
Possible/Predicted Outcome of the Match
For starters, let’s hope the rain stays away and weather gods show mercy on us and we get a good game in. With rain around, the team batting second will have an advantage. But looking at current form, on paper and everything else, it goes without saying that the Women in Blue India starts this match as favourites. Should the game happen, they should secure the full points. Pakistan may pull off a surprise but have to play out of their skins to achieve it.
Let’s see how it goes as we have another Indo-Pak clash on a Sunday albeit in a different genre and format this time. We shall see how the game pans out later this afternoon.
Also Read: ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025: Hosts Sri Lanka Face-Off With Mighty Australia In Colombo