The Indian women's team will clash with Pakistan in their opening match of the 2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup on Sunday, February 12. This encounter, often treated as a mega event in itself, is a match that cricket fans in both countries and around the world wait for ardently, with political tensions forcing all matches between them to take place in marquee tournaments like the Women's T20 World Cup.
From the 2007 Men's T20 World Cup final to their thrilling encounter in the 2022 Men's T20 World Cup, India and Pakistan have always kept their fans on their toes. While the men in blue have produced some remarkable results against the neighbours, the women in blue are not behind.
Here, we take a concise look at their head-to-head statistics in T20I cricket.
Head-to-head T20Is: India women vs Pakistan women
Historically, the two sides have clashed on 13 occasions in T20Is. India have an upper hand with 10 wins and three losses.
Talking exclusively about the Women's T20 World Cup, the two sides have faced off six times. Once again, India has a better head-to-head record than their counterparts. India have beaten the arch-rivals on four instances and have been defeated only twice.
Out of seven editions of the Women's T20 World Cup, two sides did not clash only once, and that was in the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup. Let us look back at how those six encounters have fared.
India women vs Pakistan women: First T20I encounter
The first T20I match between India and Pakistan took place during the Women's T20 World Cup in 2009 and was a low-scoring affair. Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for 75. Needing only 76 in 20 overs, India were expected to convincingly win the game but Pakistan made the Indian batters work and India won by five wickets (with 14 balls remaining.)
India women vs Pakistan women: Last T20I encounter
The last time India and Pakistan met in a T20I match was during the 2022 Asia Cup, with the Women in Blue's arch-rivals winning by 13 runs in Bangladesh on October 7.
Pakistan rode on Nida Dar's unbeaten 56 off just 37 balls to post a competitive total of 137/6. India were unable to overcome this total and were bowled out by Pakistan for just 124 runs in 19.4 overs. Left-arm pacer Nashra Sandhu picked up three wickets for 30 runs in her stipulated four overs.
