NEW DELHI: The no-handshake saga between India and Pakistan continued in women’s cricket as Harmanpreet Kaur and Fatima Sana once again refrained from exchanging the traditional gestures during the toss ahead of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 match in Dubai on Saturday.Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat first, and the last meeting between India and Pakistan began with the now familiar lack of a handshake between the two captains.The no-handshake stance has been maintained during India-Pakistan cricket meetings since last year, with the protocol also being followed when both sides met during the 2026 Women’s Cricket World Cup in Birmingham.However, the focus quickly shifted to the contest itself, with Pakistan looking to post a difficult total after opting to bat.“We will bat first because we want to bet the maximum amount here. [Did the last game influence this decision?] Yes, because we know that we have good bowlers, so we will try to limit them. [How have you addressed the batting wobble?] We had a good chat with the team and we just want to play according to the pitch,” Sana said.
India hopes to maintain dominance
India entered the competition in a strong position after winning their first two matches against Thailand and Hong Kong (China) to secure their place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Pakistan began their campaign with a win over Thailand and are still playing a group stage game against Hong Kong (China) after their clash with India.India have also produced a dominant performance in recent matches against their neighbors in T20Is, winning nine of the last 10 meetings, with the only defeat in that stretch coming during the 2022 Asia Cup.Harmanpreet said India would be happy to bat first and backed their bowling attack to restrict Pakistan to a manageable total.“Our bowling has been performing well in this tournament and it is good that we have the opportunity to bowl first. [How challenging is chasing?] I think when hitting the ball you always need to give yourself a little time and then work on your shots. And I think that the first two games we showed very good results in this regard, and hopefully we will continue. [On leading for the 150th time in T20Is] Great achievement. But the main thing is to continue to enjoy the game, and that’s the main thing; I try to keep up with this. [What score would you like to chase?] We will try to limit them to a small number so that there is no pressure during the chase,” she said.
Historical milestone for Harmanpreet
The India captain also entered the record books on Saturday by becoming the first cricketer (male or female) to captain in 150 T20I matches.Harmanpreet’s signature achievement came in the very match where India are aiming for a perfect three wins out of three in the group stage.Sri Lanka’s Chamari Atapattu is second on the list with 121 caps, followed by Australia’s Meg Lanning with 100 caps.IND vs PAC plays with:
- India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Phulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Sri Charani, Kranti Gaud.
- Pakistan XI: Muniba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (c), Umm-e-Khani, Eiman Fatima, Tooba Hassan, Nashara Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.