Huge blow for India as Smriti Mandhana ruled of match against Pakistan due to finger injury
But India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the warm-up series against Australia and Bangladesh has been declared fit for the Pakistan game.
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Smriti Mandhana
India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana has been ruled out of India’s campaign opener due to a finger injury in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup against Pakistan, which is slated to take place on Sunday (February 12) at Newlands in Cape Town. She picked up a finger injury during the warm-up match against Australia, which forced her out of their second warm-up match against Bangladesh.
“Smriti has a finger injury and is still (in) recovery, so she won’t play most likely. It’s not a fracture and we’re hopeful she will be available from the second game onwards,” stand-in coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar said during the press conference. But he also stated that the 26-year-old hard-hitter hasn’t sustained a fracture and is expected to be back in action from India’s second game against West Indies on February 15.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who missed the warm-up series against Australia and Bangladesh has been declared fit for the Pakistan game. She had experienced shoulder discomfort during the recently-concluded tri-series against West Indies and South Africa.
“Harman is ready to play. She has been batting in the nets for the past two days and she’s doing well,” Kanitkar said during the press conference. Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia, and Shafali Verma can replace Mandhana against the Pakistan game.
India vs Pakistan head-to-head records
The last time India and Pakistan faced each other was in the Aisa Cup where Pakistan stunned India. But the last time, the two rivals cashed in a T20 World Cup match, India won easily by seven wickets. They have played against each other in 13 T20Is and India lead the head-to-head record by 10-3.
But in their head-to-head record in T20 World Cup, India lead by 4-2. Today will be their seventh meeting in the T20 World Cups. India also won the Commonwealth Games match against Pakistan last year.
After their opener match against Pakistan, India will play against 2016 winners West Indies, and 2009 winners England, and Ireland. Before the 2023 T20 World Cup, India lost the final tri-series final to South Africa and were defeated by defending champions Australia in their first warm-up match. India were the runners-up in the last edition of T20 World Cup where he lost to host Australia.
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Gouri Das
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