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 customary gesture during the toss ahead of their Women’s Asia Cup 2026 clash in Dubai on Saturday.Pakistan captain Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat first, with the latest India-Pakistan encounter beginning with the now-familiar absence of a handshake between the two captains.The no-handshake stance has continued across India-Pakistan cricket encounters since last year, with the protocol also observed when the two sides met during the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in Birmingham.The focus, however, quickly shifted to the contest itself, with Pakistan looking to post a challenging total after opting to bat.“We’re gonna bat first because we want to put a maximum total here. [Did the last game influence this decision?] Yeah, because we know we have a good bowling side, so we will try to restrict 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 look to maintain dominance
India entered the contest in a strong position after winning their opening two matches against Thailand and Hong Kong, China, and securing a place in the semi-finals. Pakistan, meanwhile, began their campaign with a win over Thailand and still have a group-stage game against Hong Kong, China after the India clash.India have also enjoyed a dominant recent record against their neighbours in T20Is, having won nine of their last 10 meetings, with their only defeat in that stretch coming during the 2022 Asia Cup.Harmanpreet said India were happy to bowl first, backing their bowling attack to restrict Pakistan to a manageable total.“Our bowling is doing great in this tournament, and good to get the opportunity to bowl first. [How challenging is chasing?] I think while batting it’s always about giving ourselves some time and then going for your shots. And I think the first two games we did really well in that department, and hopefully we’ll continue. [On leading for the 150th time in T20Is] Great achievement. But the key is to keep enjoying yourself on the field, and that is key; I try to keep up with that. [What score would you like to chase?] We’ll try to restrict them to a short total, so there won’t be pressure while chasing,” she said.
Historic milestone for Harmanpreet
The India captain also entered the record books on Saturday, becoming the first cricketer — male or female — to captain in 150 T20I matches.Harmanpreet’s landmark came in the same match in which India are aiming to complete a perfect three wins from three in the group stage.Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu is second on the list with 121 matches as captain, followed by Australia’s Meg Lanning on 100.IND vs PAK Playing XIs:
- India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.
- Pakistan XI: Muneeba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (c), Umm-e-Hani, Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
