BENGALURU: The cross-border cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan may have lost some of its unpredictability over the years, with India’s impressive success at ICC events, but Harman Preet Kaur And her team knows there is no room for complacency when they open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Birmingham on Sunday. India entered the Group 1 encounter with a 13-3 record against the Fatima Sana-led side. But in a tough pool that also includes Australia and South Africa, the ODI World champions cannot afford an early mistake.A winning start could prove crucial in the race for a place in the semi-finals.Meanwhile, Pakistan arrived with little preparation. Their T20 series against Zimbabwe last month was their only assignment in the format in more than two years before their trip to Europe. Defeats to Scotland and Sri Lanka in the warm-up matches have further disrupted their build-up. Nevertheless, India will be wary of underestimating its neighbors for what could be a tough match at Edgbaston. India will hope for openers. Smriti Mandhana And Shafali Verma provided a quick start in the powerplay before Yesthika Bhatia, Harmanpreet and Bharti Filmlee looked to build on the platform.The bowling attack, meanwhile, is expected to lean heavily on the spin unit, which could play a decisive role in English conditions. Pakistan’s batting will largely depend on captain Fatima Sana and the top-order trio of Muniba Ali, Gul Feroza and Ayesha Zafar.Ahead of the start of the campaign, India head coach Amul Mazamdar asserted that while the team’s ODI World Cup victory had given him confidence, the change in format required a new mindset. “It is a completely different format (T20). Yes, we won the World Cup in ODIs but this is a completely new format and we are looking forward to it. One thing I can assure you is that we will take a lot from this World Cup into this tournament because we know for a fact that we can cross the line,” Mazamdar said.
