Smriti Mandhana Talks About India-Pakistan Rivalry Ahead of Women’s T20 World Cup 2024
Dubai [UAE], October 2: As the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 approaches, star Indian batter Smriti Mandhana shared her thoughts on the India-Pakistan rivalry, emphasizing the strong emotions involved. The Indian women’s team arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month, with the tournament starting on October 3.
India will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against New Zealand on October 4 at the Dubai International Stadium. The much-anticipated match against Pakistan is scheduled for October 6 at the same venue.
Speaking to Star Sports, Mandhana explained, “I think the India-Pakistan rivalry is more about the emotions of the fans than anything else. It’s not like the players don’t talk to each other; it’s the emotions from both nations that make it so intense. For me, every World Cup match is special, and we put the same amount of effort into each game. But there’s definitely a lot of emotion attached to the India-Pakistan games.”
When asked about the rivalry against Australia, Mandhana noted that the Women in Blue must avoid mistakes against the Aussies. “Every game in the World Cup is important, and you have to give your 100 per cent in each one. New Zealand and Sri Lanka are strong teams, but with Australia, you know you can’t afford to make mistakes. You have to bring your best game on that particular day to get the better of them. There’s always excitement when facing Australia because they’re such a good team, and beating them is a great challenge,” she added.
In the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022, India reached the semi-finals but were defeated by Australia. Australia went on to win their sixth title by beating South Africa in the final.
India’s Squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024:
| Player | Role |
|---|---|
| Harmanpreet Kaur (C) | Captain |
| Smriti Mandhana (VC) | Vice-Captain |
| Shafali Verma | Batter |
| Deepti Sharma | All-rounder |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | Batter |
| Richa Ghosh (WK) | Wicketkeeper |
| Yastika Bhatia (WK) | Wicketkeeper |
| Pooja Vastrakar | All-rounder |
| Arundhati Reddy | Bowler |
| Renuka Singh | Bowler |
| Dayalan Hemalatha | All-rounder |
| Asha Sobhana | Bowler |
| Radha Yadav | Bowler |
| Shreyanka Patil | All-rounder |
| Sajana Sajeevan | Bowler |
Travelling Reserves: Uma Chetry (WK), Tanuja Kanwer, Saima Thakor.
Non-Travelling Reserves: Raghvi Bist, Priya Mishra.
Doubts Revealed
Smriti Mandhana -: Smriti Mandhana is a famous Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian women’s national team. She is known for her excellent batting skills.
India-Pakistan rivalry -: The India-Pakistan rivalry in cricket is very intense because both countries have a long history of competition. Matches between them are very exciting and emotional for fans.
Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 -: The Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 is a big cricket tournament where teams from different countries compete in T20 (Twenty20) cricket matches. T20 means each team plays 20 overs.
UAE -: UAE stands for the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East. The Indian team arrived there for the tournament.
Harmanpreet Kaur -: Harmanpreet Kaur is another famous Indian cricketer and the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team. She is known for her powerful batting.
Shafali Verma -: Shafali Verma is a young and talented Indian cricketer known for her aggressive batting style. She is one of the key players in the team.
New Zealand -: New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. In cricket, they have a strong women’s team that India will play against on October 4.
Australia -: Australia is a country and continent known for having one of the best women’s cricket teams in the world. India needs to be very careful when playing against them.
