Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma star as India hammer Bangladesh to storm into Asia Cup 2026 final

Riding onto the blistering inning by Shafali Verma and a strong bowling performance by Deepti Sharma, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian women's cricket team defeated Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday to storm into the final of the Asia Cup 2026, which will be played on Sunday. 

Asked to bat first, the Women in Blue did not have a great start after Smriti Mandhana was out for just two runs. However, Verma and Pratika Rawal helped the team stabilise the innings. Even after Rawal (20 off 24 balls) got out in the 10th over, Verma continued and smashed the Bangladesh bowlers all-round the park.

Verma, who was named player of the match, also received a valuable support from Harmanpreet Kaur (28-ball 24), Richa Ghosh (16-ball 21), and Deepti Sharma (six-ball 13), as the Indian team posted a competitive 150-run target for the Bangladeshis. 

The Bangladeshi team had a cautious start, with Dilara Akter (26-ball 21) and Juairiya Ferdous (18-ball 14), scoring 26 runs in first five overs. However, India kept taking wickets, with Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana, and Shorna Akter scoring 24-ball 18, 17-ball 19 and 18-ball 22, respectively.

Meanwhile, Sharmin Akhter and Fahima



Khatun scored two-ball one and 14-ball 14, respectively.

For the Indian women's team, Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets in four overs for just 26 runs. Nandani Sharma also picked two wickets in two overs, giving just 10 runs. Meanwhile, Shree Charani and Prema Rawat took one wicket each.

Later, Kaur said she was happy with the team's performance. She said the spinners of both teams bowled exceptionally well, making it difficult for batters to score runs. 

"All the partnership (that) we had today while batting, those were very crucial, and even Richa Ghosh's batting. She played a few really good shots. And with the ball, Deepti was excellent. Whenever we needed, she came up and gave us breakthroughs," the Indian women's team skipper said.

The Indian women's cricket will now play the Asia Cup 2026 final in Dubai on Sunday. Meanwhile, the second semifinal will be played between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on Friday in Dubai.

Brief scores: India 149/6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 64, Harmanpreet Kaur 24 not out; Sultana Khatun 2/30) beat Bangladesh 109/7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 21, Shorna Akter 22 not out; Deepti Sharma 3/26, Nandani Sharma 2/10) by 40 runs.