When India and Pakistan meet in women’s ODIs, history favors India heavily — and by a long way. In 11 ODI encounters, Pakistan have never beaten India, often losing by margins of 80 runs or more. Yet, beyond the rivalry, there’s a human side that fans still remember — when, after their 2022 World Cup match, Indian players were seen playing affectionately with Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof’s six-month-old daughter, a moment that transcended borders and politics.
As both sides prepare for their World Cup clash in Colombo, the focus will be on cricket — and possibly, on whether the handshake tradition will continue amid the tension.
India Confident, Pakistan Searching for Consistency
India enter the contest on a high, having started their campaign strongly. Their lower-order duo, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma, rescued the side against Sri Lanka, while Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, and Deepti Sharma were exceptional with the ball. India’s familiarity with Colombo’s conditions also gives them an edge — they played a tri-series here earlier this year.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will need to fix their batting frailties. After being bowled out for 129 against Bangladesh, they’ll rely heavily on Sidra Amin and Muneeba Ali to anchor their innings. Pakistan’s batters have struggled to cope with elite bowling attacks — something India possesses in abundance.
“𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆. 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒓𝒂 𝑨𝒎𝒊𝒏, 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒊𝒈, 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝑹𝒊𝒂𝒛 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕-𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒂, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 23.
Spotlight: Sneh Rana and Sidra Amin
India’s Sneh Rana has made the Khettarama Stadium her hunting ground, taking 15 wickets at an average of 14 in just four games here. Her all-round form continues to impress — contributing both with the bat and ball in India’s World Cup opener.
“𝑫𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊, 𝑺𝒏𝒆𝒉 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂’𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑨𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒗𝒊. “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆.”
For Pakistan, Sidra Amin remains their best hope. Though dismissed for a duck in the last game, she has been in top form recently — scoring 121, 122, and 50** against South Africa. Her calm approach could be crucial against India’s spin trio.
Team Updates and Weather Concerns
India are likely to retain their winning XI, while Pakistan may bring in Eyman Fatima or Aroob Shah to strengthen their batting lineup. However, the Colombo weather might play spoilsport again, as the northeast monsoon has brought persistent rain — Saturday’s match between Australia and Sri Lanka was completely washed out.
The damp conditions could aid seamers early on, with movement in the air and off the pitch, as seen in previous games.
Stats and Trivia
- India have beaten Pakistan in all 11 ODIs, with dominant margins every time.
- Pakistan’s Sidra Amin has scored just 24 runs in five innings in Sri Lanka.
- India’s Sneh Rana has taken 23 of her 52 ODI wickets in 2025 alone.
- This is the first ODI at Khettarama for Pakistan’s women’s team.
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