Pakistan Women are ready to take on Australia Women in the 9th match of the ongoing Women's ODI World Cup on Wednesday at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The showdown is incredibly decisive for Pakistan’s campaign and their hopes of progressing beyond the group stage given their winless journey so far.
They enter this high-stakes clash on the backfoot, having lost both of their opening matches against Bangladesh and arch-rivals India. With zero points from two games, their margin for error has all but disappeared. A third consecutive defeat could all but end their semi-final hopes. Most importantly, their head-to-head record against Australia makes matters worse for them. Notably, Pakistan have never managed to defeat Australia in their last 16 ODI games. Heading into this game, Pakistan will need to dig deep and rise to the challenge against threatening Australia.
For Australia, the situation is far more comfortable. They started their campaign on a thumping note, beating New Zealand by 89 runs. Their previous match against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to persistent rain. Going into this game, Australia would hope to maintain their dominance against Pakistan.
Head-to-head (ODIs)
Matches: 16
Australia won: 16
Pakistan won: 0
Head-to-head (ODI World Cup)
Matches: 5
Australia won: 5
Pakistan won: 0
Australia likely XI: Alyssa Healy (c, wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Darcie Brown
Pakistan likely XI: Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (capt), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal