Harmanpreet Kaur's India ready for Pakistan clash in T20 World Cup opener

The warm-up matches are done and the focus now shifts to the main event for Team India. Harmanpreet Kaur's side is all set to begin its ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday, with the skipper promising a fearless approach. India head into the tournament after a mixed warm-up campaign. They opened with a convincing win over West Indies before suffering a narrow five-run defeat to England in a last-over thriller. Despite the loss, Harmanpreet believes the team has gained valuable confidence ahead of the tournament opener. "These two practice games have given us a lot of confidence. And even today, even though we lost the game, Richa's batting was a big positive for us. That's a big belief that if we stay on the pitch, we can turn the game anytime," Harmanpreet said after the England warm-up match. India came close to chasing down 172 against England thanks to a brilliant 68 off 36 balls from Richa Ghosh. Harmanpreet felt the team missed crucial partnerships during the chase but was encouraged by the wicketkeeper-batter's form. "I think it's about partnerships and I think we missed them. Only Richa played a blinder. In T20 cricket, you need a few partnerships in the middle, which we missed today, but it's good to see how Richa batted," she said. The captain also revealed that the warm-up games allowed the management to give every player an opportunity before the tournament begins. "We wanted to give everyone a fair chance before the first game, and I think everybody got one," she added.

India have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. The clash against Pakistan is expected to draw huge interest, with thousands of fans expected at Edgbaston. "What a way to start it. Pakistan in Birmingham. That is going to be a sensational atmosphere. We are really looking forward to that," Harmanpreet said. The Indian captain made it clear that her side intends to play positive cricket from the very first game. "Hopefully, we'll play fearless cricket in our first game," she said.

India are still searching for their maiden Women's T20 World Cup title. Their best performance came in 2020 when they reached the final before losing to Australia. The 2026 edition will be the biggest Women's T20 World Cup ever, featuring 12 teams for the first time. Hosts England qualified automatically, while India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand secured direct qualification through the rankings. Bangladesh, Scotland, Ireland and tournament debutants Netherlands came through the global qualifiers. A total of 33 matches will be played across seven venues in England, including Old Trafford, Headingley, Edgbaston, Bristol County Ground, Hampshire Bowl, The Oval and Lord's. The two semi-finals will be played at The Oval on June 30 and July 2, while the final is scheduled for July 5 at Lord's.

Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav.