Dubai International Stadium: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the Group A clash of the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday. Both teams are unchanged from their respective last clashes in the continental event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India have won nine of their last 10 T20Is against Pakistan, whose only recent victory against the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side came during the 2022 Asia Cup. Harmanpreet's side has already booked a place in the semifinals after winning their matches against Thailand and Hong Kong-China.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Harmanpreet has also become the first player in international cricket, male or female, to lead her side in 150 T20Is. Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu trails Harmanpreet on the all-time list for most T20Is as captain with 121 matches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Definitely happy to be chasing. Our bowling is doing great in this tournament, and it's good getting the opportunity to bowl first. I think while batting it's always about giving ourselves some time and then going for your shots, and I think the first two games we did really well in that department, and hopefully we'll continue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Great achievement (to play 150th T20I game as captain). But the key is to keep enjoying yourself on the field, and that is a key; I try to keep up with that. We will try to restrict them to a small total, so that we don't feel any pressure while chasing,” she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan, who opened their campaign with a victory over Thailand, need a strong performance ahead of their final group-stage fixture against Hong Kong-China to ensure progress to the last four stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“We're gonna bat first because we want to put a maximum total here. Because we know we have a good bowling side, so we will try to restrict them. We had a good chat with the team, and we just want to play according to the pitch.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Playing XIs:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“We're gonna bat first because we want to put a maximum total here. Because we know we have a good bowling side, so we will try to restrict them. We had a good chat with the team, and we just want to play according to the pitch.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan: Muneeba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (captain), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, and Sadia Iqbal<\/p>\r\n\r\n