The match referee and presenter during the toss for the Women's World Cup match between India and Pakistan seemingly erred by calling it in favour of Fatima Sana. Although Sana had seemingly called tails and it came heads, the match referee had ruled it in favour of Pakistan. A video of the same has surfaced on social media.
The no-handshake policy between the two captains also continued, carrying forward from the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2025 edition. The men's Asia Cup edition saw Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha avoid handshakes with one another on all three occasions. The BCCI had reportedly directed the Indian women's team to avoid shaking hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
Meanwhile, watch the below video from the toss:
Fatima Sana wins toss and Pakistan opt to bowl first in Colombo:
Meanwhile, Sana opted to bowl first against India at the overcast R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both sides have made one change each, with Pakistan bringing in Sadaf Shamas, who replaces Omaima Sohail. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet Kaur announced that Amanjot Kaur isn't keeping well and Renuka Singh Thakur has replaced her.
Pakistan Women (Playing XI): Muneeba Ali, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Rameen Shamim, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz(w), Fatima Sana(c), Natalia Pervaiz, Diana Baig, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal.
India Women (Playing XI): Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Sneh Rana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani.
India hold an overwhelming upper hand over their arch-rivals, given they are yet to lose in ODIs on 11 occasions. The Women in Blue opened their campaign with a commanding 59-run win over Sri Lanka; hence, they are high on confidence. Pakistan will be desperate to open their account after a seven-wicket loss to Bangladesh.
