Shafali Verma shines as India quality for Asia Cup final

India marched into the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final after defeating Bangladesh by 40 runs in the first semifinal at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bowl, but India posted 149/6 before restricting Bangladesh to 109/7 in 20 overs.

India lost Smriti Mandhana early for two but Shafali Verma quickly changed the tempo. The opener struck back-to-back sixes in the fourth over and went on to bring up her 20th T20I half-century. She eventually finished with 64 off 40 balls, including seven fours and three sixes, giving India a strong platform on a slow surface.

Shafali was named Player of the Match for her match-winning knock. Reflecting on her innings, she admitted that batting in the middle was not easy but said she focused on building her innings.

“In the middle also sometimes I can’t even breathe. So I’m trying to just play, still more,” Shafali said in the post-match presentation. “At the start, I didn’t get those balls, but I’m just trying to play grounded. So yeah, I was trying to build my innings. These things happen. I think anyone deserves a bit of luck.”

Pratika Rawal contributed 20 while Harmanpreet Kaur made 24 and Richa Ghosh added 21. Deepti Sharma provided a late boost with 13 off six balls as India finished with 149/6 on the scoreboard.

Bangladesh’s chase never gathered the momentum required. India kept picking up wickets and restricted the scoring with Deepti Sharma finishing with three wickets as Bangladesh struggled to build a match-changing partnership.

Shree Charani, completed her 50 T20I wickets, becoming the fastest Indian bowler to reach the mark in the format.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana admitted that her side had not produced their best performance. She said Bangladesh had wanted to restrict India to a total they could chase but failed to make the most of the powerplay with the bat.

“It was just a bad day what happened to the whole team and yeah, sometimes, we really wanted to restrict them in a total that we can chase, but somehow we didn’t bat as well as in the powerplay,” Sultana said.

The pressure continued in the closing overs. Nandani Sharma struck in the final over to dismiss Fahima Khatun before Rabeya Khan was dismissed hit wicket off the final delivery. Bangladesh finished on 109/7, giving India a 40-run victory.

India will now wait for the result of Friday’s second semifinal between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with the winner set to face them in the Women’s Asia Cup final on September 13.

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