Women's T20 World Cup: India face Pakistan in a crucial match

India faces arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial Women's T20 World Cup match on Sunday (October 6). Find out the match timings and where to watch it.

India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a crucial Women's T20 World Cup match on Sunday (October 6). After suffering an unexpected 58-run defeat against New Zealand in their opening match, India probably needs to win all their remaining matches to keep the qualification chances in their own hands. The encounter will start at 3.30 pm IST at the Dubai International Stadium. Cricket fans in India can catch the live action via Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.

After the clash against Pakistan, India will face Sri Lanka on Wednesday and then Australia on Sunday. If they lose any of their remaining three matches, they might have to depend on other teams' results to reach the semi-finals.

The heavy defeat against New Zealand has dealt a big blow to India's net run rate. Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. will be aiming for a big win against Sana Fatima-led Pakistan. But it will not be easy. Pakistan, who thrashed Sri Lanka by 31 runs in their first match, are currently third in Group A with a net run rate of +1.550, behind New Zealand. India are currently at the bottom of Group A with a net run rate of -2.900. However, India can take confidence from the fact that they have won 12 of their 15 T20 matches against Pakistan.

Indian batting order collapsed against New Zealand on Friday. Chasing a target of 160, Harmanpreet and Co.'s chase folded for just 102 runs. The skipper top scored with 15 runs, while the likes of Smriti Mandhana (12), Shafali Verma (2), Jemimah Rodriguez (13), Deepti Sharma (13) and Richa Ghosh (12) lost their wickets cheaply.  

Even if they beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan, India will still have to overcome the challenge of defending champions Australia in their last group-match. In the World Cup, which is being played between 10 teams divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be played in Dubai and Sharjah on 17th and 18th of this month.