Diana Baig and Pooja Vastrakar won't be spotted in action as Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the Group A match of the 2024 Women's T20 World at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
India begin with a net run rate denting 58-run loss to New Zealand, and Pakistan comes in with a satisfying 31-run win over Sri Lanka. For the match to be played on a fresh pitch, this is also the 100th T20I game to be played at the venue in Dubai.
More problems for @DCpathy. Diana has walked off the field without bowling a single ball from the pavilion end against Sri Lanka and is suffering from a probable calf injury. Now the Pakistan team have drafted leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah into the playing eleven as she is not fit.
We'll bat first, put a total on the board. It's a big blow that Diana won't be playing, but we have players who can do very well in her absence. We'll look to put up a good total here. We just want to enjoy every play, and for Pakistan to take a win over India," Pakistan captain Fatima Sana said.
For India, with Pooja nursing a niggle, all-rouder Sajeevan Sajana comes into the playing eleven. "We would have batted first as well, but we will have to bowl well and restrict them. We need to come out from here with a positive mindset, it's always how you bounce back and we have spoken about it. We will go out there and play some positive cricket," said skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
Playing XIs
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Sajeevan Sajana, Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and Renuka Singh Thakur
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Gull Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz, Omaima Sohail, Fatima Sana (c), Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Syeda Aroob Shah and Sadia Iqbal
