🏏ICC Women's T20I WC 2024: Group A: M 19- PakW vs NZW, Page 70🏏 - Page 8

India won their two warm-up games with fairly convincing margins, by 20 runs against West Indies and 28 runs against South Africa.

As India prepare to take on New Zealand in their opening Group A match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday, the pressure is on skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and her senior stars to deliver a strong start. With past near-misses haunting the team, most notably their loss to Australia in the 2020 final, the Women in Blue are determined to overcome their mental fragility and aim for a deep run in the tournament.

Harmanpreet, likely playing in her last T20 World Cup, has been central to India's rise but has also experienced heartbreak in pivotal moments.

The Indian side, brimming with talent, stands toe-to-toe wit ..

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/113927041.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Originally posted by: Spideyweb

When is indias match di?

Who's ready to enter the Ring of Fire? It's matchday one in Group A, with India taking on New Zealand under the lights in Dubai. India go in as one of the favourites for the competition, having reached at least the last four in each of the previous three editions; New Zealand have match-winning pedigree but haven't been in great form. You can read up on both sides' chances in our preview, then settle in for the toss in half an hour's time.

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

It is going to start at 7.30 PM, after an hour.

Best of luck 😄 🍀

Best of luck 😀

Just 3 months after experiencing the highs of winning a World Cup, it’s time for India to witness the women’s team embark on a journey to emulate the men’s side. Harmanpreet Kaur’s India have undoubtedly been one of the top sides at the international stage but a T20 World Cup win remains elusive. In the previous edition, which was just last year, after enjoying a good run in the group-stages, India went down to eventual champions Australia in the semi-final. Now, placed in stiff Group A along with Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, India are faced with a fresh challenge. They’re up against New Zealand first today and if past records are anything to go by, then New Zealand hold the upper-hand with 9 wins to India’s 4 in all T20Is. Past records, however, tend to have little bearing in high-pressure World Cup games.

Close. Closer. Closest. That is India's relationship with World events. They have been on the receiving end of so many knock-out games in the last decade. With the emergence of WPL and the mix of youth and experience, a place in the knock-outs is the mandatory minimum Indian fans would expect, but can Harmanpreet's girls ace the pressure challenge come the crunch time? That is all for later. For starters, they need to put up a solid show and more importantly sort their best eleven. Let's see how they will respond to the Antipodean challenge.

New Zealand is a side that is rich on experience, but they always seem to flounder under pressure, especially in the World events. Brushed aside by a dominant Australian side recently, the Kiwis will once again rely heavily on the experience of Suzie and Sophie. More with the bat, of course. Can they start on a winning note to kickstart their campaign on a high?

On the eve of India's 2024 T20 World Cup campaign in Dubai, head coach Amol Muzumdar wasn't as cagey about the team management's dedicated choice for the No. 3 slot as maybe he was 10 days ago in his last media interaction in Mumbai. For clarity, in the quote above he's referring to the team sheets of the two official warm-up games where Harmanpreet Kaur earned a surprise promotion.

Over in Dubai, there were reasons to believe India's move to send the India captain at one-down was a smokescreen. Prioritising game time and better acclimatisation for a sure-starter, hoping for a return to form and what have you. However, in that case, what difference would walking out at No. 3 have made as compared to her usual no. 4 slot? Moreover, Harmanpreet did alleviate any concerns regarding her T20 form with a fifty on a tough track in an intra-squad game at the camp back home.

And so, there were even stronger reasons to believe that Harmanpreet's return to No. 3 in India colours was the card Muzumdar was holding close to the chest ahead of the team's departure to UAE. After nearly a year of experimentation with five different candidates, why else would the captain and coach decide to chew up on someone else's game-time? That at the time when the one-drop spot, or lack of its clarity in their buildup to the World Cup, appeared the only chink in India's batting armour.

In the current World Cup cycle, India put a total of five players in the hot seat. In continuation of her prior role, Jemimah Rodrigues was the top candidate. At No. 3 no Indian batter has more than Rodrigues' tally of 1492 runs at an average of 30.44 and she's fourth in the all-time list led by Meg Lanning.