Birmingham, June 14, 2026: India won the toss and elected to bat first against arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Sunday.
The high-profile encounter marks the beginning of both teams’ campaigns in the global tournament, with India aiming to maintain their dominance over Pakistan in the shortest format of the game.
Historically, India have enjoyed a significant advantage in women’s T20 internationals, winning 13 of the 16 matches played between the two sides. Pakistan have registered three victories.
India also hold the upper hand in Women’s T20 World Cup contests, having won six of the eight meetings between the neighbouring rivals, while Pakistan have emerged victorious twice.
Despite their strong record against Pakistan, India enter the tournament after a disappointing run in recent matches. Harmanpreet Kaur’s side suffered back-to-back defeats, including a heavy loss in a three-match T20I series against England.
The Women in Blue will be keen to put those setbacks behind them and begin their World Cup campaign on a positive note.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will be looking to spring a surprise and secure a morale-boosting victory against their traditional rivals.
The Women in Green recently featured in a T20I tri-series involving West Indies and Ireland but struggled to produce consistent performances. However, captain Fatima Sana will hope her side can rise to the occasion in one of the tournament’s most anticipated fixtures.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal and Tasmia Rubab.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil.
