In the Asian Games 2026, the Indian women's cricket team has entered the semi-finals by defeating the Japanese team. In the fourth quarter-final, India defeated host Japan by 8 wickets. Bowling first in this match, the Indian spinners bowled out the entire Japanese team for just 57 runs in 19.5 overs. After this, on the basis of Shafali Verma's stormy batting, India achieved the target of 58 runs by losing 2 wickets in just 5 overs. With this victory, the Indian team has reached the semi-finals and now they will face Bangladesh in the semi-finals.
- Japan- 57 runs (19.5 overs)
- India- 59 (5 overs)
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India won the toss
After winning the toss, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur decided to bowl first. India relied more on spin rather than fast bowlers against Japan and this strategy was successful. Indian spinners bowled a total of 95 balls and Japan took 8 wickets for just 46 runs. Among the Indian bowlers, left-arm spinner Sri Charani overpowered the opposition team. He took 4 wickets giving just 10 runs in his 4 overs. The most important thing is that during this period he also bowled 20 dot balls due to which the score of the opposing team remained low. Apart from them, Shafali Verma took 2 wickets in bowling, while Deepti Sharma and Shreyanka Patil got one wicket each.
Talking about Japan, Ayaka Kato-Stafford scored the highest score of 25 runs in 47 innings. Apart from her, no other player could score well and only Haruna Iwasaki could reach double digits. The Japanese team looked helpless in front of the Indian bowlers and the entire team was all out for 57 runs.
Shafali bats
The Japanese team had given the target of 58 runs to the Indian team. The Indian team, which came to chase this target, may have had a bad start but later the team performed brilliantly. India lost two wickets in the beginning but after that Shafali Verma took control of the match. Shafali Verma made the match one-sided. He scored unbeaten 40 runs in just 15 balls. His innings included 6 fours and 2 sixes. Richa Ghosh scored unbeaten 12 runs in 6 balls. Together, India scored the runs required to win in just five overs. Shafali also led India to victory by hitting two fours and a six in the last over of the innings.
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Match won with 90 balls remaining
India defeated Japan by 8 wickets and won the match with 90 balls remaining. According to Cricbuzz report, this is India's highest win with the most balls remaining in Women's T20 International cricket. In this match, Sricharani took four wickets for the second consecutive innings. So far in 2026, she has taken 43 wickets in 21 T20 matches. After this spectacular victory, India has now reached the semi-finals, where India will face Bangladesh.