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ind vs pak preview: Test of Pakistani bowlers in front of Smriti-Shefali; Captain Harmanpreet will have a big record in his name

Samira Vishwas | September 5, 2026 10:24 AM CST

ind w vs pak w match preview: An interesting match of Women’s T20 Asia Cup between India and Pakistan will be played in Dubai on Saturday evening. Although this match will not have a big impact on the race for the semi-finals, but this match will definitely be an opportunity for both the teams to test the depth of their batting. India has already reached the semi-finals by winning both its matches, while Pakistan has played only one match. Since the next match will be against Hong Kong, the chances of reaching the knockouts are strong.

Middle order concern of India
India’s batting has scored brilliantly so far, but the team’s middle order performance is still a matter of concern. Against Thailand, the team lost 8 wickets in 46 runs after a strong start by the openers. Even against Hong Kong, Smriti Mandhana’s bat remained heavy throughout the innings. Batsmen from number-3 to number-7 together could score only 34 runs. There is a big difference between the performance of India’s opening pair and the rest of the batsmen. Mandhana has 143 runs and Shefali Verma has 92 runs, while the next highest scorer Pratika Rawal has only 32 runs. In such a situation, India would like to see its middle order stronger before the semi-finals.

The story of Pakistan is also similar. The batsmen could not perform as per expectations against Thailand, but the bowlers led the team to victory. However, during the Sri Lanka tour in July-August, Pakistan had scored more than 170 twice. Shawal Zulfikar and Muniba Ali had shown the ability to score runs quickly there. 21 year old Zulfikar has not played a match against India yet and Pakistan will have high expectations from her in the powerplay.

On the other hand, Prema Rawat will also be a player worth watching for India. The leg spinner has bowled economically in both the matches of the Asia Cup. He had taken two wickets in the last match. Their performance can be gauged from the fact that experienced Radha Yadav has to sit on the bench.

Whereas Pakistan’s Nashra Sandhu has always been effective against India. He has 6 wickets in his name in 7 T20 matches and the economy is 5.47. He has dismissed Mandhana twice. She can become a problem for the Indian middle order on the slow pitch of Dubai.

Captain will make international record
In this match, Harmanpreet Kaur will play her 150th T20 International as captain. She will be the first player to captain in 150 T20Is in men’s and women’s cricket. Mandhana is just 78 runs away from surpassing Suzie Bates in terms of scoring most runs in T20Is. India has defeated Pakistan 6 out of 7 times in the Asia Cup. The only defeat was in Sylhet in 2022.

Pitch and weather conditions
The heat and humidity in Dubai will once again test the players. The temperature is expected to be around 37 degrees at the time of the match. Spinners have dominated the tournament and have taken more wickets than the fast bowlers. The captain who wins the toss will have the challenge of choosing to bat or bowl first.