West Indies have nose ahead against Pakistan

Absence of warm-up games and enough training sessions notwithstanding, Pakistan captain Sana Mir is confident of getting their campaign off to an impressive start when they meet the West Indies in the women’s World T20 here tomorrow.

Going by the team’s recent performances in bilateral series, the West Indian women look to be the favourite against Pakistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

“Every team would like to reach the venue well in advance but we utilise the time available to prepare ourselves well.  On any given day, we can surprise our opponents like we had done before and this is what we are expected to do in this World Cup too,” Sana Mir said, adding, “we have very good combination of spin and fast bowlers in our ranks and we need to prove ourselves on the ground in the morrow.”

Mir’s words are clear indication that she is banking a lot on her bowling unit.

“Relatively it is going to be tough and given the start on a newly laid wicket, we have to play really well and not show any complacency as the West Indians have been performing well in the T-20 international circuit and have raised the bar,” she further said.

Mir was not unduly worried about missing bowler Sania Khan in this world event.

“Sania has been a good bowler for us in T20 games but definitely Diana has been with us for the last three years.  She has been in the camp and played in a couple of games during our tour to West Indies. Definitely, she is going to be an exciting prospect to the team.”

In contrast, the West Indian women appear far better placed with a mixture of experience and youth in their squad.

The Caribbean captain Stafanie Taylor, who had led the team to the semifinals on three occasions in World T20 tournaments, was confident that they have the potential to win their maiden title this time around.

“We have crossed the barriers. We will be playing some good cricket in this World Cup too. We have had good practice sessions during the last five days. We are getting used to the conditions and know that the wickets in India would be spin friendly,” she said.

Taylor further said, “We have to just go there and prove ourselves. Last year there were instances that in some games they are beaten but this time, the tournament is tougher and anything can happen. We have played a lot of competitive cricket and had a series against England too. So, we will try to be on top of our game.”