India look to continue winning momentum against arch-rivals Pakistan, who they face in Guyana today
India players celebrate a wicket during their World T20 opener v NZ at Guyana on Friday
After a near-perfect beginning, the Indian women's team will be overwhelming favourites against arch-rivals Pakistan in its second group league encounter of the ICC World T20 here today.
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Not considered among the top T20 teams in the world, India produced a power-packed performance, winning the opener against a formidable New Zealand side by 34 runs after skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's 51-ball 103.
With momentum firmly on India's side, the Women In Blue would like to set the record straight after losing to their arch-rivals in the 2016 edition at home. However, since that loss in Delhi, India have played Pakistan thrice across two editions of Asia Cup, winning all the battles. That Pakistan lost by a comprehensive 52-run margin to Australia in their lung opener will also give India an upperhand during today's encounter.
Pakistan skipper Javeria Khan
The best aspect about India's performance against White Ferns was young Jemimah Rodrigues's mature effort. With her skipper going for the jugular, Rodrigues, 18, just tapped for singles giving the senior player bulk of the strike. Yet, she managed to hit seven boundaries at a strike rate of 130-plus. So much so that veteran Mithali Raj's services wasn't required during the Indian innings.
The Providence Stadium track proved to be helpful for the slow bowlers with India using as many as four of them in off-spinners Deepti Sharma and Dayalan Hemlatha, leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and left-arm orthodox Radha Yadav. The spinners accounted for eight of the nine New Zealand wickets with lone seamer Arundhati Reddy picking the other scalp.
The Pakistan team have some quality players in skipper Javeria Khan, veteran spinner Sana Mir and all-rounder Bismah Maroof. Against Australia, the Pakistan batting simply fell apart chasing 153. The bowlers were also off the mark during the first eight overs when Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy took them to the cleaners with a 72-run stand.
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