IND-W vs SL-W, Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Final: India capped off their perfect Asia Cup 2026 campaign by saving their best for the final against Sri Lanka at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on September 13, Sunday. After Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma got the Women in Blue put Sri Lanka to the sword with a massive opening stand, Shree Charani ran through the Island nation’s batting unit to hammer them by 72 runs in the tournament-decider. In the process, they also avenged the defeat in the final to Sri Lanka suffered two years ago.
IND-W vs SL-W, Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Final: Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma get India off to a perfect start
With Harmanpreet Kaur winning the toss and opting to bat first, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put Sri Lanka on the back foot with some expansive and enterprising stroke play. Shafali raced to a 24-ball half-century, raising it off only 21 deliveries in the eighth over of the innings with a boundary. With the opening pair raising the 100-run partnership in the 11th over of the innings, it proved to be their sixth century-partnership in the shortest format. Meanwhile, Mandhana’s fifty came off 35 balls, making it her 36th half-century in the format.
Sri Lanka got their first breakthrough in the 13th over of the innings as Shafali played a tired shot as Chamudi Praboda dismissed her for 68. Even as India looked set to pass 200, Mandhana sacrificed her wicket after a terrible mix-up with captain Harmanpreet. By contrast, Harmanpreet perished for a run-a-ball 14 as Richa Ghosh (17) and Gunalan Kamalini (15*) chipped in with crucial contributions to lift their side to 183/5 in 20 overs.
IND-W vs SL-W, Women’s Asia Cup 2026 Final: Chamari Athapaththu top scores but spinners too much to handle for Sri Lanka
The Women in Blue struck in the first over as Imesha Dulani lost her wicket to Kranti Gaud. Despite Chamari Athapaththu striking some lusty blows, the Lankans struggled to keep up with the required run-rate and eventually crumbled under pressure.
From a reasonable 86/3, Sri Lanka crashed to 111 all out after playing their full 20 overs. Charani snaffled figures of 4-1-20-3, while Deepti Sharma took a haul of 4-0-19-3. Gaud, Shafali and Rawat took one scalp each.
The post Women’s Asia Cup 2026: Shafali Varma And Shree Charani Star As India Thrash Sri Lanka By 72 Runs In Dubai To Lift Their 8th Title appeared first on NewsX.