With the passage to the semifinals already confirmed, a dominant India will be expected to step up the intensity against traditional foes Pakistan in its final league game of the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai on Saturday.
Routinely scheduled Indo-Pak fixtures in multi-team events, both men’s and women’s, have not lived up to the off-field hype for a while now.
Nothing different is expected when the two teams meet at the Dubai International Stadium, with overwhelming title favourite India expected to steamroll its opponent.
That is not to say that India doesn’t have work to do in the shortest format, having made premature exits in the past two T20 World Cups.
The team need to develop a pool of power-hitters and fast bowlers to challenge the hegemony of Australia.
However, at the Asian level, no side comes close to India, although the side did finish runner-up to Sri Lanka in the previous edition of the tournament.
Pakistan won its opening game against Thailand and remains in contention for the last-four stage.
Ahead of the encounter, both India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma look at the top of their game. Mandhana broke a battery of records against Hong Kong en route to a memorable hundred, firing out a warning to the other teams in the competition.
The pitches here have not been the easiest to bat on.
Batters usually take about 10 balls or so to assess the pace of the surface and plan the innings accordingly. This is exactly what both Mandhana and Shafali did on Thursday night.
The likes of Pratika Rawal, Richa Ghosh and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will look to spend more time in the middle, having not been able to convert starts.
The addition of Nandani Sharma in the pace attack has been a step in the right direction as she is delivering on her promise while opening the bowling alongside spearhead Kranti Gaud.
Pakistan, on the other hand, needs drastic improvement in its batting to compete with India. Even in the last game against Thailand, Pakistan found themselves under pressure in the powerplay, losing three wickets. However, it managed to defend a lowly 119 against a less-established side.
The over-reliance on opener Muneeba Ali and bowling all-rounder Fatima Sana, the captain, is also a major issue. That will need to change if Pakistan is to challenge its mighty rival.
Published on Sep 04, 2026