With Pakistan preparing to play India in a highly anticipated Women’s World Cup clash later this Sunday, captain Fatima Sana is positive her team can turn the tables, ending years of failing against their arch-nemesis.
Even though India dominates the head-to-head series 11-0 in women’s ODIs, Sana emphasized that her team is looking to the future and not relying on past records. “Records are meant to be broken,” she said firmly, emphasizing the desire of her team to step up to the challenge.
“Firstly, whatever records exist between India and Pakistan, they are meant to be broken. It’s not that Pakistan will never win against them,” Sana said at the pre-match press conference
“We believe in playing good cricket, no matter who the opponent is. So we won’t think about past history, we’ll focus only on the day we play.”
“I personally feel that Pakistan has the power to defeat any big team by playing well in any match. So, you can’t judge yourself with just one match. Everyone’s morale is high,” she added.
The high-voltage clash comes against the backdrop of increased political tensions between the two countries. Like the men’s team recently in the Asia Cup, Indian cricketers are likely to skip the pre-game handshakes with the Pakistani team a marked change from their 2022 World Cup clash, which had won hearts around the world as Indian players were seen warmly greeting then-captain Bismah Maroof and her baby daughter.
“Our main goal is to play well. Our relationship with the other teams is good. We will try to fulfil the spirit of the game.
“What happened before, like with Bismah’s daughter, when everyone mingled and enjoyed together, as players, we all like such moments. But the main thing is to stay focused on what we have come here for,” Fatima stated.
Sana recognized the pressure of playing that marquee fixture and, more importantly, acknowledged the off-field climate as well, and said that the team has to learn to manage the level of intensity at that moment.
“Of course, it’s a match with a lot of pressure. We know that India-Pakistan matches are being watched by the whole world. But handling that pressure is the main thing. We will try to focus on that, play our game and execute our plans.”
“Coaches have told us to believe. You can’t define an entire tournament based on one match. So we believe that we can still win games.”
Pakistan’s campaign began on shaky grounds as they lost to Bangladesh by seven wickets. The captain, nonetheless, asserted that morale in the camp is still high and the team is ready to bounce back in what could prove to be one of the most-watched games of the tournament.