IND-W vs PAK-W Ball by Ball Commentary

2:07 PM IST Pakistan Women (Unchanged XI) - Muneeba Ali (WK), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (C), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sundhu and Sadia Iqbal.

2:07 PM IST India Women (Unchanged XI) - Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Richa Ghosh (WK), Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Sree Charani and Kranti Gaud.

2:07 PM IST The skipper of India Women - Harmanpreet Kaur says they are happy to chase, adding that they have done well with the ball and feel it is a good opportunity to make first use of the surface. She says that, given the conditions here, it is important for batters to take their time and assess the conditions, and feels the batting unit has done well in that regard. On her 150th T20I as the Indian captain, Harmanpreet calls it a great achievement. She says the pressure remains the same, but she wants to keep enjoying herself. Informs that they are unchanged for this game.

2:08 PM IST The captain of Pakistan Women - Fatima Sana says the plan is simple - to put up a big total and defend it. She points to their bowling depth as the reason for their belief that they can restrict this Indian side. Reveals that the team has had a good chat together, and that the approach will be shaped around reading the surface and she also acknowledges India as a quality side. Concludes by informing that they are going with an unchanged XI for this game.

2:01 PM IST TOSS - Time for the coin to go up in Dubai. Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana are present in the middle. 'Tails' is the call by Fatima, and she gets it right. Pakistan Women elect to BAT first.

1:58 PM IST A milestone that stands alone - Harmanpreet Kaur is set to lead India for the 150th time in T20Is. No man or woman has ever led a side in 150 T20Is. She walks into the match with a captaincy record of 87 wins and 57 losses from her 149 games in charge.

1:47 PM IST The curious chasing trend - Chasing has been the preferred option at the toss in this competition, but the results suggest otherwise. 7 out of the 8 toss winners have opted to field first, yet only one of those 7 chases has been successfully completed, with Sri Lanka tracking down 80 against the UAE. Pakistan's Fatima Sana is the only skipper to buck the trend, and her decision was vindicated as her bowlers successfully defended 119 against Thailand. Stick around for the toss and team news.

1:38 PM IST India's soft underbelly - The heavy lifting for India has been done by their openers, with the middle order yet to find its feet. The slow and low surfaces have not helped either. That gives Pakistan an opportunity. If they can get the openers early, they can expose India's middle order. The conditions could help Pakistan's bowlers keep India's power-packed batting line-up in check, but their own batters will have to adapt just as well.

1:34 PM IST Hello, one and all - The stage is set as two arch-rivals lock horns under the ring of fire here in Dubai. Whenever India and Pakistan meet, the anticipation is unlike any other game. This is one rivalry that needs no introduction. But it has not been much of a rivalry on the field, with India heavily dominant at 14-3 in T20Is and having won the last 4 meetings. The Women in Blue are already through to the semis, while a win in either of Pakistan’s remaining 2 games will be enough to take them through to the next round.

1:30 PM IST ... MATCH DAY ...

1:45 PM IST Border rivals, global gaze - Some fixtures don't need an introduction, they simply need a stadium big enough to hold the noise. Whenever these two neighbouring nations meet, on any field, in any sport, the world quite literally pauses to watch. This time it's cricket's turn again, as the Dubai International Cricket Stadium dresses up for the occasion. India Women lock horns with Pakistan Women in the 9th match of this year's Women's Asia Cup, a contest set to keep billions of eyes locked on their screens. Biggest rivalry? Strip away the hype and the numbers tell a rather blunt tale. Across both the men's and women's game, India have made a habit of getting the better of Pakistan. Zoom in on the women's side and it gets even starker, with the Women in Blue hold a commanding 14-3 lead in the overall head-to-head. 2012, 2016 and 2022, three lonely dots on an otherwise Indian-dominated timeline. Those are the only years Pakistan have found a way past their rivals. Of those, 2022 stands alone as their sole triumph on Asia Cup soil, a tournament where they otherwise trail India by a heavy 1-6 margin. A win, barely earned - Pakistan Women may have opened their campaign with a win tucked in their pocket, but there's little in that performance to inspire confidence. Thailand Women pushed them right to the edge, pegging them back to a modest 119, and had it not been for a rescue act from the Pakistani bowlers, another bruising, hard-to-forget setback would have been staring them in the face. Ailments with no cure - Pakistan's batting unit continues to wrestle with the same old inconsistency against quality opposition. When the top order clicks, the middle order stutters, and when it's the other way round, the story doesn't change either. Against Thailand, it was Muneeba Ali's lone 54 carrying the innings at the top, with barely a whisper of support from the rest of the batters down the order. Fielding rustiness is another ailment they simply can't shake off. Four catches went down against Thailand alone, chances that quietly ate into the margin of their win. If Pakistan are to stand truly competitive and put India under any real pressure, it's their batting and fielding that need to lift several notches, and fast. Saved the grace - If Muneeba Ali shouldered the batting burden, it was the bowling attack, hunting as a pack, that offered some real comfort, the spinners especially. Sadia Iqbal's three-wicket haul and a couple of scalps from Tuba Hasan strangled an inexperienced Thailand side almost completely. In fact, behind only Nashra Sundhu, this spin duo ranks next on the list of Pakistan's leading wicket-takers in Asia Cup history. And without a doubt, on a sluggish Dubai surface, spin is going to be the master key that unlocks the contest completely for them, given that the batters and fielders also work in sync. The dominance continues - Having lost just a solitary match in their last ten Asia Cup assignments, India Women have been on a roll once again. Of course, their batting came under the scanner against Thailand, but they roared back in style in their next test versus Hong Kong, China. They smashed 193 on the back of a fluent century by Smriti Mandhana and backed by a highly professional bowling display across the board. A minor chink in the armour - 65/1 and 60/0, their Powerplay scores through this tournament so far, say it all about the stable platforms they've built for the middle order to cash in on. Alongside Smriti's fluency, Shafali too has stayed true to her natural game, bringing that same aggressive intent from the other end. The middle order, though, hasn't matched that consistency, with Harmanpreet Kaur, Bharti Fulmali and Richa Ghosh all still searching for their first real contribution with the bat. And what better occasion could it be to get going against one of their fiercest rivals? Shining with the leather - Bowling their opponents - correction - routing their opponents on 56 and 65, respectively - the Indian bowling unit, led by Deepti Sharma's twin three-fors, has been just ruthless, to say the least. Pakistan will undoubtedly test them more, but India have held them under a hundred runs on four of their seven Asia Cup meetings. Team form (Last 5 completed T20Is, recent first) - IND-W - WWLWL | PAK-W - WWLLW. What to expect? Batting hasn't come easy in Dubai this tournament, with the 150-mark breached just twice in eight games so far, both by India. The Women in Blue will take plenty of confidence from that 193 they posted the last time out. Pakistan enter on the back of a 35-run win over Thailand, while India have already booked their semi-final berth after brushing aside both Thailand and Hong Kong, China. With little separating conditions from match to match at this single-venue tournament, the slow Dubai surface is expected to once again test both batting units, and how each side manages the middle overs could well decide which way this high-voltage clash tips.