India vs Bangladesh: Shafali Verma’s Fifty Sends India Into Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Final

Last Updated: September 11, 2026

India are through to the final, and they got there the hard way. Set the task of finishing off a tough group stage with a semi-final win, India beat Bangladesh by 40 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday. It wasn’t the most fluent performance from the batting unit, but it didn’t need to be – the bowlers made sure of that.

How the Match Unfolded

Bangladesh won the toss and put India in to bat, and for a while that decision looked like the right one. The top order struggled on a slow surface that wasn’t offering much to anyone. Then Shafali Verma got going, and the innings changed shape.

Verma made 64 off 40 balls, and honestly, she needed a few slices of luck along the way – a couple of dropped catches kept her innings alive when it could have ended much earlier. Harmanpreet Kaur played a supporting hand too, finishing unbeaten on 24, and between the two of them India got to 149 for 6. Not a total that jumps off the page, but on a pitch like that one, it was more than enough.

Bangladesh’s chase never really clicked. Openers Dilara Akter and Juairiya Ferdous started cautiously, and once Ferdous was dismissed by Shree Charani, things unravelled fairly quickly. Fahima Khatun’s 14 off 14 balls was about as good as it got before she was caught at point off Nandani Sharma, and Rabeya Khan’s run-out the very next ball more or less captured the kind of evening Bangladesh had. Deepti Sharma picked up 3 wickets and kept things tight through the middle overs, and apart from Shorna Akter’s unbeaten 22 at the end, there wasn’t much fight left. Bangladesh finished at 109 for 7, 40 runs short.

India national cricket team vs Bangladesh national cricket team match scorecard

India Women 149/6 (20 overs)

Bowling: Sultana Khatun 2/30 was the pick for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Women 109/7 (20 overs)

Bowling: Deepti Sharma 3/26, Shree Charani 1/14, Prema Rawat 1 wicket, Nandani Sharma 2 wickets.

Result: India Women won by 40 runs | Player of the Match: Shafali Verma

Read Our Match predition of this match: IND-W vs BAN-W: Who Wins the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Semi-Final?

What the Captains Said

Harmanpreet Kaur credited the spinners on both sides for how the game panned out on a pitch that was gripping the ball more than usual. “Happy with the way things are going. Happy with the way our batting and bowling are going. Spinners from both teams bowled well today. Batters had it hard, and the spinners used the pitch really well,” she said at the post-match presentation.

She also made a point of mentioning the smaller partnerships that added up. “The small partnerships matter, especially on a pitch like this. Richa also played a few valuable shots. Deepti was excellent with the ball and got us a few breakthroughs,” the India captain said.

Shafali Verma, picking up the Player of the Match award, said the Dubai humidity made things harder than expected. “It’s humid there, so I tried to relax more. I just wanted to take my chance and build my innings, got my chances,” she said, adding that going after the bowling early is simply her job: “I know it’s my job to hit sixes and fours in the powerplay – so trying to do that.”

On the other side, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana didn’t hide from the result. “We didn’t bowl well, unlike the other last three games. We fielded well in other games, not today; we put down chances. That was the pressure, I guess, just a bad day for the whole team,” she said.

India vs Bangladesh: Head-to-Head Record

India have long had the upper hand over Bangladesh in women’s cricket, though the Asia Cup itself has been a bit more competitive than the overall numbers suggest.

• Overall Women’s T20Is: India have now won 21 of their 25 meetings with Bangladesh, Bangladesh have 3 wins, and 1 game ended with no result.
• Women’s T20 Asia Cup specifically: This was the sixth meeting between the two sides in the tournament, and India now lead 4-2.
• Bangladesh’s biggest win over India: Still the 2018 Women’s Asia Cup final, where Bangladesh pulled off the upset to win their only title in the competition.
• Most recent Asia Cup meeting before this one: India won by 10 wickets in the 2024 semi-final at Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

Numbers like these are why India came into Thursday as favourites – and also why nobody was writing Bangladesh off before a ball was bowled.

Why This Win Matters

This wasn’t just another routine group-stage win. It came in a semi-final, under real pressure, against a side that has pulled off upsets in this competition before. Defending a total that wasn’t exactly imposing says a lot about India’s bowling and fielding on the night – arguably more than the batting does.

For Harmanpreet Kaur’s team, it’s another entry in what’s already a strong record in this event. India keep setting the standard in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup, and Thursday only added to that. Shafali Verma, who’s been among the runs all tournament, once again came up big when it mattered.

Player Spotlight: The Two Who Made the Difference

Shafali Verma – Player of the Match The 22-year-old opener has been on a run through this Asia Cup, and her 64 off 40 balls on Thursday – 7 fours, 3 sixes – was her 20th T20I half-century. She’d already put together an 81 off 48 against Nepal earlier in the group stage. Against Bangladesh she did what she usually does: went hard in the powerplay and gave India something to build the innings around.

Deepti Sharma – The Difference With Bat and Ball Deepti had the kind of game all-rounders dream about. She took 3 for 26 to break up Bangladesh’s middle order, then came in and smashed an unbeaten 13 off just 6 balls to push India’s total past 145. Harmanpreet Kaur mentioned her specifically in the post-match presentation, and it’s easy to see why – few players affect a game at both ends the way Deepti did here.

What’s Next for India

India now sit and wait to see who they’ll meet in Sunday’s final. That’s down to the second semi-final between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and whoever comes through will be walking into a final against an Indian side playing with a lot of confidence right now.

It sets up another big weekend of cricket, with India once again just one win away from the title.

Key Takeaways

• Result: India beat Bangladesh by 40 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 semi-final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
• Star performer: Shafali Verma top-scored with 64 off 40 balls and won Player of the Match.
• Best bowler: Deepti Sharma picked up 3/26 to derail Bangladesh’s chase, then smashed 13* off 6 balls with the bat.
• Scores: India 149/6 in 20 overs; Bangladesh 109/7 in reply.
• Head-to-head: India now lead the Women’s T20 Asia Cup rivalry 4-2, and overall Women’s T20Is 21-3.
• What’s next: India await the winner of the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan semi-final and will play the final on Sunday.

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