Form, teams, head-to-head: India vs New Zealand – Women’s T20 World Cup

Pretournament favourites India will kick off their campaign against experienced New Zealand in Dubai.

Who: India vs New Zealand
What: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Group A match
When: Friday, October 4 at 6pm (14:00 GMT)
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live text coverage begins at 11:30 GMT

India will begin their search for a maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title when they face New Zealand in a crucial Group A match on Friday.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s team are placed third, just above their opponents, in the ICC women’s T20 international rankings but will be wary of the threat posed by an experienced side led by Sophie Devine.

India’s head coach Amol Muzumdar believes his team head into the tournament with plenty of self-belief and experience.

“We have had a fantastic season leading up to the World Cup,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Muzumdar said the team management and captain have been working on finding the right mix for the playing 11 ahead of the first match.

“We have figured out the right combination that we are going to play tomorrow,” he said.

New Zealand captain Devine will hope that her team will be able to shake off the recent back-to-back series losses against Australia and England.

Devine will hold the key to New Zealand’s chances with the bat, but Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr are also capable of taking on the best bowling attacks in the world.

Placed in the tougher of the two groups – along with holders Australia, Asian champions Sri Lanka, and the unpredictable Pakistan – both teams will look to get points in the bag in the first game.

India’s last T20 international outing resulted in a loss – and a costly one – when they were beaten by Sri