3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Pakistan 2024 Women's T20 World Cup clash ft. Smriti Mandhana vs Omaima Sohail
For the first time in a while, an India vs Pakistan clash isn't just a big one because it's India and Pakistan, it's political, and so on. It's a big one because neither can afford to lose.
India are coming off a massive defeat against New Zealand which has made all their remaining games knockouts. Pakistan, in contrast, beat Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka and are full of confidence, which should push them to try and go all the way.
So, the winner would not only win the bragging rights but also ensure survival. Below we discuss the three most important battles that can define the contest:
#3 Harmanpreet Kaur vs Fatima Sana
When Pakistan were defending a sub-120 total against Sri Lanka, they were dealt a hammer blow when their new ball bowler Diana Baig picked up an injury after the first ball of the innings.
Fatima Sana, the medium-pacer captain stepped up, completing the first over and taking out her opposite number and Sri Lanka's most important player Chamari Athapaththu in her second. The Lankans could never recover from that despite Pakistan being a bowler short.
Fatima, just 22, is on the opposite end of Harmanpreet in her cricket and captaincy career. But she's as authoritative and perhaps even more street-smart as the leader on-field.
Harmanpreet's batting struggles are well known and Pakistan's spinners will also test her to the tilt. But Fatima would have seen the Indian get out to a nip-backer from New Zealand's Rosemary Mair in the last game through an obvious chink in her technique and would try to do the same on Sunday, October 6.
Harman's lack of front-footedness and confidence in hitting through the line or putting pressure back on the bowler would be perfect dotted lines for Fatima to join. The Indian skipper has to pinch out all her experience to find a counter.
#2 Muneeba Ali vs Pooja Vastrakar
Powerplays have been an issue for both Pakistan and India. India couldn't buy a wicket against New Zealand in this phase while Pakistan lost three wickets in the first six against Sri Lanka.
But because the India-Pakistan clash is in Dubai, you can expect batters to fare better in kinder conditions. If we go with Fatima's pre-match comments, Pakistan will likely go hard early and play aggressively throughout the innings.
Leading that line would be wicketkeeper batter Muneeba Ali, who has recently started to find her hitting mojo. If she gets set for a while, India will find it hard to stop Pakistan's run-scoring.
To stop that, Harmanpreet would likely turn to Pooja Vastrakar. The pacer hasn't been in her best form in T20Is but has a good record against Muneeba: she got her out earlier this year in the Asia Cup with a well-planned short ball.
If the wicket is flatter, it'll also likely be quicker than Sharjah so Vastrakar's deliveries should carry and bounce, making her even more dangerous than her new-ball partner Renuka Singh.
How Pooja does in this one would be as important for India as Muneeba's performance is for Pakistan. The powerplay battle can define which team get the early advantage.
#1 Smriti Mandhana vs Omaima Sohail
For all her qualities, Smriti Mandhana's struggles against off-spin have become a glaring weakness. It exposes all the small chinks in her armor - the running between the wickets, the gap-finding, and so on - which becomes an easy plan for the opposition.
Pakistan would do the same. Even though Nida Dar is the main off-spinner in the team, she was quite inconsistent against Sri Lanka.
Omaima Sohail might be able to put up a bigger challenge to Mandhana. Unlike Dar, she hardly left the stumps and was brilliant with her trajectories against Sri Lanka and came off with two wickets.
The way she flights the ball and makes it dip could be quite troublesome for Mandhana and Fatima can use her in the powerplay if needed. If the Indian left-handed batter gets out cheaply twice in a row it would automatically put pressure on a shaky middle-order.
How Mandhana tackles that in this must-win game could be defining for her legacy.