{"id":9248,"date":"2025-10-05T10:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=643677"},"modified":"2025-10-05T15:17:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T09:47:21","slug":"india-vs-pakistan-womens-world-cup-2025-will-the-teams-shake-hands-history-rivalry-and-whats-at-stake-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/india-vs-pakistan-womens-world-cup-2025-will-the-teams-shake-hands-history-rivalry-and-whats-at-stake-today\/","title":{"rendered":"India vs Pakistan Women\u2019s World Cup 2025: Will the teams shake hands? History, rivalry, and what\u2019s at stake today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"266\" data-end=\"611\">When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/news\/topic\/india\">India<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/news\/topic\/pakistan\">Pakistan<\/a> meet in an ODI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/news\/topic\/world-cup\">World Cup<\/a>, there\u2019s usually one predictable outcome \u2014 an Indian victory. The women\u2019s rivalry, while fierce in spirit, has been one-sided in numbers. Pakistan have never beaten India in 11 ODIs, and they\u2019ve rarely come close. Each time, India have won by at least 80 runs or five wickets.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"613\" data-end=\"1109\">But beyond the statistics, their previous World Cup meeting offered something far more human than the scoreline. After India\u2019s 107-run win in 2022, the cameras captured a touching moment \u2014 Indian players gathering around Bismah Maroof\u2019s six-month-old daughter, smiling, cooing, and playing with her as Maroof held her close. It was a rare image of warmth in a rivalry often overshadowed by politics \u2014 a gentle reminder that beyond flags and pressure, these are athletes bound by mutual respect.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1111\" data-end=\"1408\">Fast forward to 2025, the question of whether India and Pakistan will exchange handshakes has been whispered around Colombo. Officials have not confirmed if the traditional gesture will take place. Both teams, however, insist they are focused purely on cricket \u2014 not on symbolism or speculation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1774\"><strong data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1430\">Cricketing front<\/strong><br data-start=\"1430\" data-end=\"1433\" \/>Pakistan, led by Fatima Sana, have much to fix after a poor start to the tournament. Bowled out for 129 by Bangladesh, their batting frailties remain their biggest concern. Sidra Amin and Muneeba Ali have been in good touch recently, but Pakistan\u2019s batters have historically struggled against quality spin \u2014 and India possess plenty of it.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1776\" data-end=\"2251\">India, meanwhile, will look to consolidate their strong start. Despite early stumbles against Sri Lanka, lower-order grit from Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma ensured victory. Their bowling unit, led by Sneh Rana, Shree Charani, and Deepti, remains India\u2019s greatest strength \u2014 controlling the middle overs with consistency and precision. India also carry the advantage of familiarity with conditions, having played a tri-series at the R. Premadasa Stadium earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2253\" data-end=\"2302\"><strong data-start=\"2253\" data-end=\"2267\">Form guide<\/strong><br data-start=\"2267\" data-end=\"2270\" \/>India: WLWLW<br data-start=\"2282\" data-end=\"2285\" \/>Pakistan: LWLLW<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2304\" data-end=\"2326\"><strong data-start=\"2304\" data-end=\"2324\">In the spotlight<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2327\" data-end=\"2830\">\n<li data-start=\"2327\" data-end=\"2607\">\n<p data-start=\"2329\" data-end=\"2607\"><strong data-start=\"2329\" data-end=\"2351\">Sneh Rana (India):<\/strong> The offspinner has turned Colombo\u2019s Khettarama Stadium into her hunting ground, taking 15 wickets in four matches at an average of 14. She was Player of the Tournament in the tri-series earlier this year and has already made an impact in this World Cup.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2608\" data-end=\"2830\">\n<p data-start=\"2610\" data-end=\"2830\"><strong data-start=\"2610\" data-end=\"2636\">Sidra Amin (Pakistan):<\/strong> Pakistan\u2019s most consistent batter in 2025, with scores of 121*, 122, and 50* against South Africa. But her record in Sri Lanka remains dismal \u2014 just 24 runs across five innings on the island.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2832\" data-end=\"3022\"><strong data-start=\"2832\" data-end=\"2845\">Team news<\/strong><br data-start=\"2845\" data-end=\"2848\" \/>India are unlikely to make changes to their winning combination, while Pakistan may consider bringing in Eyman Fatima or Syeda Aroob Shah to strengthen their batting depth.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3024\" data-end=\"3403\"><strong data-start=\"3024\" data-end=\"3040\">Probable XIs<\/strong><br data-start=\"3040\" data-end=\"3043\" \/><strong data-start=\"3043\" data-end=\"3053\">India:<\/strong> Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Goud, Shree Charani.<br data-start=\"3226\" data-end=\"3229\" \/><strong data-start=\"3229\" data-end=\"3242\">Pakistan:<\/strong> Muneeba Ali, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Amin, Aliya Riaz, Natalia Pervaiz, Fatima Sana (c), Rameen Shamim, Diana Baig, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3405\" data-end=\"3749\"><strong data-start=\"3405\" data-end=\"3429\">Pitch and conditions<\/strong><br data-start=\"3429\" data-end=\"3432\" \/>Colombo\u2019s northeast monsoon is making its presence felt, with continuous rainfall threatening another washout. The Australia\u2013Sri Lanka match was abandoned without a toss, and wet conditions could again dictate play today. Seamers might get early movement, but if the match goes ahead, spinners will likely dominate.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3751\" data-end=\"3773\"><strong data-start=\"3751\" data-end=\"3771\">Stats and trivia<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3774\" data-end=\"4040\">\n<li data-start=\"3774\" data-end=\"3856\">\n<p data-start=\"3776\" data-end=\"3856\">Sidra Amin\u2019s five ODI innings in Sri Lanka have yielded just 24 runs in total.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3857\" data-end=\"3927\">\n<p data-start=\"3859\" data-end=\"3927\">Sneh Rana has taken 23 of her 52 career ODI wickets in 2025 alone.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3928\" data-end=\"4040\">\n<p data-start=\"3930\" data-end=\"4040\">Despite hosting this World Cup, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/news\/topic\/pakistan-women\">Pakistan women<\/a> had never played an ODI at Khettarama before this tournament.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"4042\" data-end=\"4325\">Whether or not a handshake happens today, one thing is certain \u2014 the India-Pakistan fixture remains one of the most emotionally charged contests in world cricket. And sometimes, the most meaningful gestures come not from protocol, but from moments of respect shared between rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When India and Pakistan meet in an ODI World Cup, there\u2019s usually one predictable outcome \u2014 an Indian victory. The\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":31937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"reading_time":"4 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}