Harmanpreet Kaur Leads India Bat First in Indw Vs Pakw

India won the toss and chose to bat against Pakistan in indw vs pakw at Edgbaston. Harmanpreet Kaur made the call at 14.30pm BST, and the captains did not shake hands before the first ball.

Edgbaston Toss

The match began in fair Birmingham weather with a big crowd expected, but the first marker was India’s decision to set the terms. Harmanpreet Kaur said India were only thinking about cricket, and the XI reflected that approach with Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur, Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil.

Pakistan XI

Pakistan answered with Muneeba Ali, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Saira Jabeen, Natalia Pervaiz, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Rameen Shamim, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal and Tasmia Rubab. Fatima Sana was part of the no-handshake moment at the toss, a small detail that kept the political backdrop visible even in a buildup described as relatively subdued compared with the men’s fixture earlier in the year.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s Approach

“We are here for cricket and we only talk about cricket. Except for cricket we don’t talk anything and I don’t even think we know anything except cricket.” That was Kaur’s read on the occasion before she added, “Cricket has been our dream from day one and we only discuss cricket and for tomorrow’s game we are only thinking about it as another game which we are going to play.”

For India, the immediate advantage is simple: bat first, score well, and let the bowling group defend under conditions that were set fair at the start. For Pakistan, the reply begins with the new-ball overs, and the lineups already show the two sides arriving with 11 players each and no room for delay after a toss that set the tone.