Deepti Sharma plays down India's advantage over Pakistan in Women's Asia Cup 2026, names clear winner in IND vs PAK

Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma played down any advantage against Pakistan despite their strong record as the arch-rivals head into their highly-anticipated Group A encounter in the Women's Asia Cup 2026 on Saturday. India boast a strong 14-3 record against Pakistan in women's T20Is and have already booked their spot in the semifinal of the tournament.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team is currently on top of Group A with two dominating wins -- against Thailand and Hong Kong. Pakistan, on the other hand, have won just one game so far against Thailand. Post the India game, Pakistan will round off their league commitments against Hong Kong.

Acknowledging the team's performances with both bat and ball in the tournament in the first two games, Deepti made it clear that India have always had the upper hand when it comes to match-ups against Pakistan.

"Look, there is no advantage as such. The only thing is that whatever we have won against them (Pakistan), whether it is the Asia Cup or any other matches, we are always one step ahead of them. And that's it," Deepti, the leading wicket-taker in women's T20Is said at the pre-match presser.

"The whole team is performing well. If you look at the bowling unit or the batting unit, I think both things are balanced. The one who has a good day, she tries to do better and take the game further. And those around her, they try to stay positive things so that they step in more in their game."

How Indian players have fared so far?

While Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana led the batting in both games, the likes of Deepti herself, Prema Rawat, Nandni Sharma and Shree Charani were among the wickets. The 29-year-old Deepti had special words for left-arm spinner Shree Charani and leg-spinner Prema Rawat.

“Charani is a very good talent. He is number one in the rankings. She has performed very well in the last year. The way she turns the ball, unbelievable. It's not easy to play for a batter,” added Deepti.

“It's the same with Prema. She has not played so many matches. But whenever she gets a chance to bowl, she is always one step ahead. It's like 'I have to find breakthroughs for the team'.” Charani has taken four wickets from two matches while Prema has two scalps from two games.

Pakistan press more on fielding

On the other hand, Pakistan all-rounder Ayesha Zafar pressed that her side is going hard on fielding to win against India. “We cannot specifically focus on one thing; overall, we have focused on all three (batting, bowling and fielding),” she said during the pre-match press conference.

“We have been putting in a lot of work into fielding. Our mentor also said we cannot compromise on fielding because it is something that can win you matches," added Zafar before claiming the India tie as "just another match.”

The pitch in Dubai has favoured spinners so far. With both the sides having a plenty of slow-bowlers, it will be interesting to see how the batters cope up. A win for Pakistan in the remaining two games will be enough to advance.