(Cricket news) India led by Mithali Raj is all set to begin their World Cup Campaign against Pakistan. The two teams have met 10 times in One Day Internationals and India have won all of them. A commanding victory at Bay Oval will be the perfect way for the Women in blue to start the elusive tournament. 

India's Possible Playing XI:

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Mithali Raj(c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Jhulan Goswami, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Bench: Poonam Yadav, Taniya Bhatia, Yastika Bhatia, Renuka Singh.

India won the 5th Test against New Zealand and both the warm up games with this combination of 5 pure batters, 3 all-rounders and 3 bowlers. The combination works really well for India which means that Yastika Bhatia will unfortunately be the one who misses out. It will be a tough call to choose between Poonam Yadav and Rajeshwari Gayakwad as only one can play in the side. Gayakwad should get the nod based on recent form. 

Pakistan Possible Playing XI:

Sidra Amin, Nahida Khan, Javeria Khan, Bismah Maroof (c), Nida Dar, Muneeba Ali (wk), Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Anam Amin

Bench: Aiman Anwar, Ghulam Fatima, Sidra Nawaz, Omaima Sohail

The middle order of Khan, Maroof and Nida Dar is very lethal and important for the Pakistanis. Seamers Baig and Sana are two bowlers who could cause India a lot of trouble if they find their rhythm. 

Pitch and Weather Report:

The weather is expected to be sunny with a little cloud cover. The medium pacers could get some movement in the air.  The Bay Oval is usually a good batting track where 250 is a par score. The captain that wins the toss is likely to bat first to get a total on the board. 

Pakistan come into the match as the underdogs but can definitely cause an upset. India won both their warm up games against South Africa and West Indies and so did Pakistan against New Zealand and Bangladesh. It should be a good contest and will set the tone for the entire tournament. 

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