NEW DELHI: The no-handshake saga between India and Pakistan continued in girls’s cricket as Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana as soon as once more avoided exchanging the customary gesture through the toss forward of their Girls’s Asia Cup 2026 conflict in Dubai on Saturday.Pakistan captain Fatima Sana received the toss and elected to bat first, with the most recent India-Pakistan encounter starting with the now-familiar absence of a handshake between the 2 captains.The no-handshake stance has continued throughout India-Pakistan cricket encounters since final yr, with the protocol additionally noticed when the 2 sides met through the 2026 Girls’s T20 World Cup in Birmingham.The main focus, nevertheless, rapidly shifted to the competition itself, with Pakistan seeking to put up a difficult whole after opting to bat.“We’re gonna bat first as a result of we need to put a most whole right here. [Did the last game influence this decision?] Yeah, as a result of we all know we’ve got a very good bowling aspect, so we’ll attempt to limit them. [How have you addressed the batting wobble?] We had a very good chat with the group, and we simply need to play in line with the pitch,” Sana stated.
India look to take care of dominance
India entered the competition in a powerful place after profitable their opening two matches in opposition to Thailand and Hong Kong, China, and securing a spot within the semi-finals. Pakistan, in the meantime, started their marketing campaign with a win over Thailand and nonetheless have a group-stage sport in opposition to Hong Kong, China after the India conflict.India have additionally loved a dominant latest report in opposition to their neighbours in T20Is, having received 9 of their final 10 conferences, with their solely defeat in that stretch coming through the 2022 Asia Cup.Harmanpreet stated India have been pleased to bowl first, backing their bowling assault to limit Pakistan to a manageable whole.“Our bowling is doing nice on this match, and good to get the chance to bowl first. [How challenging is chasing?] I feel whereas batting it is all the time about giving ourselves a while after which going to your photographs. And I feel the primary two video games we did rather well in that division, and hopefully we’ll proceed. [On leading for the 150th time in T20Is] Nice achievement. However the hot button is to maintain having fun with your self on the sphere, and that’s key; I attempt to sustain with that. [What score would you like to chase?] We’ll attempt to limit them to a brief whole, so there will not be strain whereas chasing,” she stated.
Historic milestone for Harmanpreet
The India captain additionally entered the report books on Saturday, turning into the primary cricketer — male or feminine — to captain in 150 T20I matches.Harmanpreet’s landmark got here in the identical match through which India are aiming to finish an ideal three wins from three within the group stage.Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu is second on the checklist with 121 matches as captain, adopted by Australia’s Meg Lanning on 100.IND vs PAK Enjoying XIs:
- India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.
- Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (c), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.