India's Women's T20 World Cup 2026 journey begins with a marquee fixture. On Sunday, at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground, the team plays its opening Group 1 match against arch-rivals Pakistan. The contest gets underway at 7:30 PM Indian time.
Chasing a First Title, Riding Fresh Belief
By lifting the ODI World Cup last year, the Indian women's team finally broke a long drought of ICC trophies. Carrying the confidence from that triumph, the side now has a clear next target — winning the T20 World Cup for the very first time. That is exactly why getting past the first hurdle, a win over Pakistan, is being seen as psychologically crucial for the campaign.
Rankings and Recent Form
On paper, India hold a clear edge. In the ICC T20 rankings, the team currently sits third, while Pakistan is placed eighth. The form line tells a similar story. Of the two warm-up matches played before the tournament, India won one. Pakistan, on the other hand, have struggled — managing just a single win in their last five matches.
The Head-to-Head Story in T20s
History, too, leans firmly in India's favour. The two teams have met 16 times in the T20 format, and India have won 13 of those encounters. Pakistan have only 3 wins to show over that stretch. Tellingly, two of those three wins came on the T20 World Cup stage itself.
India's Dominance at the World Cup
Looking purely at the ICC T20 World Cup, India have again been the dominant side. The two teams have played a total of 8 matches in this 20-over tournament, and India have come out on top six times.
India's Probable XI
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Goud and Nandini Sharma.
Pakistan's Probable XI
Muneeba Ali (wicketkeeper), Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana (captain), Iram Javed, Natalia Pervaiz, Tuba Hassan, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal.
