Pitch Report and Team Combinations for Cricket Match

PITCH REPORT - Jatin Sapru notes that the same surface will be used for the entire tournament, and it has got a good covering of dry grass. He adds that it will offer consistent bounce and carry, with the spinners coming into play as the game wears on. Veda Krishnamurthy notes there is dry grass on top, but it is rock hard underneath, so she reckons that the ball will come on nicely onto the bat. She points out that both sides have plenty of spin to call upon and feels the slower bowlers will be the ones to bring success here.

The captain of Pakistan Women - Fatima Sana says that they would have batted first as well as it looks like a good batting wicket. On improvements, she says the team is doing well in both batting and bowling, but stresses that with a good bowling unit in place, they need to improve a little on their batting. On her fitness, she says the knee is good. And about the conditions, she feels it looks like a batting track, but with a good unit on both sides, it should be a good contest. When asked about the team combination, she reveals Saira Jabeen is in and will be playing her first World Cup match.

The Indian captain - Harmanpreet Kaur says they are going to bat first as it is a very good pitch to bat on and they'll be looking to put a good amount of runs on the board. On whether winning the ODI World Cup boosts their confidence, she says the whole team is excited and that the triumph has given them a lot of confidence, which they will look to carry forward. On their preparation, she says they have improved in several areas and stresses that they just need to get things right during the tournament. On team combination, she reveals Bharti Fulmali comes in for the game, noting that Yastika has been in good form but they decided to go with the former for this game. She also adds that they are going with three spinners and two medium pacers.