🏏Women's Asia Cup 2026: Group A, M 10: BAN W vs SL W on 06/09/26🏏

🏏Women's Asia Cup 2026: Match 9, Group A: India Women vs Pakistan Women at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on 05/09/2026 at 8 PM IST🏏

The highly anticipated fixture of the Women's Asia Cup 2026 is upon us as India Women (IND W) cross swords against Pakistan Women (PAK W) in the clash between the arch-rivals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Match No. 9 of the ongoing continental tournament will be played on Saturday, September 04.

India Women have already confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the event, having registered back-to-back wins in the games against Thailand and Hong Kong, respectively. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side is expected to play with full freedom since they have qualified, but they will not take the game lightly, as Pakistan are the next best team whom they could be facing in the final as well.

Pakistan Women, on the other hand, have a perfect chance to push their case for a qualification into the semis with a win against the rivals. However, they will face a stiff challenge, as the Indians are in terrific form at the moment, while the Fatima Sana-led side has had very little to celebrate against the top cricketing countries of late.

Team news

Both teams have close-to-ideal combinations for the conditions in Dubai. So expect them to field the same XIs, barring any injuries.

India (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Pratika Rawal, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Bharti Fulmali, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Prema Rawat, 9 Kranti Gaud, 10 N Shree Charani, 11 Nandani Sharma

Pakistan (probable): 1 Muneeba Ali (wk), 2 Shawaal Zulfiqar, 3 Gull Feroza, 4 Ayesha Zafar, 5 Sadaf Shamas, 6 Fatima Sana (capt), 7 Umm-e-Hani, 8 Eyman Fatima, 9 Tuba Hassan, 10 Nashra Sandhu, 11 Sadia Iqbal

In the spotlight - Prema Rawat and Nashra Sandhu

Prema Rawat's T20I debut came in a high-pressure match - against South Africa at the T20 World Cup. She did not get a game in that tournament after that. But in two games of the Asia Cup thus far, she has shown her mettle, even if those games were against Thailand and Hong Kong. The legspinner showed the spunk to hold her lengths whenever the batters attacked, and has been quite economical. Her two-wicket haul, including a maiden international wicket, in the previous outing should keep her in good spirits for the match against Pakistan. That she has kept the experienced Radha Yadav on the bench speaks about the team's confidence in her.

Nashra Sandhu's appetite for a fight is hardly surprising considering she wanted to become a fast bowler. The left-arm spinner has quite liked playing against India going by her T20I record: six wickets, seven matches, economy of 5.47 and an average of 18 (much lower than her career average of 21.2). What's more, she has a good record against Smriti Mandhana (30 runs in 32 balls for two dismissals, who is also fresh off her second T20I century, and Harmanpreet Kaur (26 off 34 balls for one dismissal). With conditions in Dubai offering some assistance to slower bowlers, Sandhu can be a handful for the Indian middle order.

Pitch and conditions

Teams winning the toss at this Asia Cup opted to chase in six of the first seven matches, with only Sri Lanka winning after restricting UAE to 78. The general pattern has been of teams batting first racing away to a strong start, and then slowing down towards the finish. Only India have posted totals in excess of 150 in this tournament. Spinners have had more success (71 wickets, economy 5.1) than quicks (31 wickets, economy 6.18). Thus, the captain winning the toss might have a tricky choice to make on Saturday.

Evenings in Dubai have been pretty hot and humid with Mandhana calling it a "steam box". Saturday evening is expected to be similar with a high of 37 degrees around start time with the temperature expected to fall only marginally thereafter.

Stats and trivia

• This match will be Harmanpreet Kaur's 150th T20I as captain. No other man or woman has led in as many T20Is.
• Smriti Mandhana is 78 away from surpassing Suzie Bates (4758) for most T20I runs.
• Muneeba Ali is two matches shy of becoming the sixth Pakistan woman to play 100 T20Is. She is also 31 runs away from scoring the most T20I runs for Pakistan in a calendar year.
• India have lost only once to Pakistan at the T20 Asia Cup in seven meetings - in Sylhet in 2022.

IND W vs PAK W: Head-to-Head Record in T20Is

Matches Played 17

Won by IND W 14

Won by PAK W 03

Tie/NR 00

First-Ever Fixture June 13, 2009

Most Recent Fixture June 14, 2026

Probable Best Batter: Smriti Mandhana

Ace cricketer Smriti Mandhana is now the highest run-getter in women's international cricket, and it is no pure luck. She has been going around in sensational form since the past few seasons now, and the same was put on display as she smashed a swashbuckling century against Hong Kong on Thursday. The left-handed opener will be eyeing yet another thunderous knock with her blade against the arch-rivals.

Probable Best Bowler: Deepti Sharma

An average of 1.50 sounds extremely mind-boggling to hear, but that is exactly what Deepti Sharma has been delivering in the ongoing Asia Cup. With six wickets to her name in just a couple of outings, the right-arm bowler has been at the forefront to deliver the goods with the ball for the Women in Blue. She will be backing her off-spin to do the job against the Pakistani side as well.

Today's Match Prediction: Team batting first to win the match

IND W

First To Bat

Powerplay: 50-60

200-210

PAK-W

First To Bat

Powerplay: 35-45

170-180

Win Probability

IND-W 75%

PAK-W 25%

Disclaimer:The prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned, and make your own decision.

Thank you Raji for the thread and for tagging.

Best wishes to Team India.