India’s Smriti Mandhana hits a four during the India v Pakistan match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, Britain on June 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her deputy Smriti Mandhana conjured a stand after twin blows to take India to 65 for 2 after 10 overs against arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening game of the ICC T20 World Cup on Sunday (June 14, 2026).After India lost Shafali Verma (6) and Jemimah Rodrigues (1) cheaply within team total of 18, Mandhana (36 batting) and Kaur (20 batting) stemmed the initial rot with a 47-run stand for the third wicket.Mandhana got a reprieve when Aliya Riaz running backwards from her mid-off position failed to hold onto a regulation catch. The unlucky bowler was left-arm seamer Tasmia Rubab, who had dismissed Rodrigues.Shafali had started with a six off left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal, who got her revenge with a delivery that cramped the batter for room as she tried a square cut and edged one to keeper Muneeba Ali.India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat against Pakistan in their Women's T20 World Cup opener.Both the captains — Harmanpreet and her Pakistan counterpart Fatima Sana — expectedly did not shake hands at the toss.India have included Bharti Fulmali in the eleven for the match.Teams:India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Shreyanka PatilPakistan: Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali(w), Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana(c), Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Tasmia Rubab, Sadia Iqbal. Published - June 14, 2026 07:35 pm IST
