When it will air, who the stars are to watch, which teams are dominating, and much more
By ESPNcricinfo Staff
The big match between India and Pakistan in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024 will be played on the first day of the tournament in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. Here are our predictions:
Match details
India vs Pakistan
Dambulla, July 19th, 7pm local time
India and Pakistan – Recent Developments
Let’s look at last year for this.
In alphabetical order, India ranks first. In this period, India have played 17 T20Is and have a record of 10 wins and 5 losses (2 no results). India beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the Asian Games final in Hangzhou to win the gold medal. Since then, India have suffered consecutive losses at home to England and Australia, beat Bangladesh 5-0 in Sylhet and recently played a three-match series against South Africa in Chennai which ended 1-1 with the second match being called off after an innings.
Pakistan has actually played more matches in T20I cricket in the same period, completing 19 matches. However, they have only won seven of those matches and lost 12. Before the Asian Games, Pakistan hosted South Africa at home and had a great result, beating them 3-0. The Asian Games was nothing special. They reached the semi-finals as expected, but lost there to Sri Lanka and then to Bangladesh in the bronze medal match. Then, in the T20I series in Bangladesh, they lost at home to the West Indies and more recently in England where they were thoroughly beaten 3-0. Their only series win was a 2-1 win in New Zealand late last year.
India vs Pakistan – Head to Head
The two nations have met 14 times so far but for reasons that are known, there has been no bilateral series. The only time a match has been played between either side was in Delhi during the 2016 T20 World Cup, where Pakistan beat India by two runs in a rain-shortened match. However, this is one of only three T20I matches that Pakistan have beaten India in; India have won 11.
And in the Asia Cup, India has a huge advantage. They have won five of the six matches they have played against Pakistan, although Pakistan has only managed to win one match, which was in the last Asia Cup held in Sylhet in 2022.
Featured Players
For India, Smiriti Mandhana and Shafali Varma form a destructive opening pair. Mandhana, who usually bats longer of the two, has scored 3320 T20I runs at an average of 28.13 and a strike rate of 121.83. Shafali’s corresponding figures are 1748, 24.27 and 129.48. For opponents, quickly eliminating one or the other is often not enough, they need to quickly eliminate both.
Pakistan’s stars are captain Nida Dar, an all-rounder who takes wickets with every inning and can score reliable runs, and Sidra Amin is in top form with the batting, having scored 205 runs in eight innings this year.
Where to watch
In India and Sri Lanka, the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 will be broadcast on Star Sports network. Live streaming will be available in India on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website. [ESPNcricinfo and Disney Star are part of the Walt Disney Company.]
