India stormed into the women’s cricket final at the 2026 Asian Games with a commanding 114-run victory over Bangladesh in the second semi-final at Nisshin on Sunday.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, India produced a powerful batting display to post 195 for four in their allotted 20 overs. Shafali Verma was the star of the innings, smashing an unbeaten 100 off just 49 balls. Her knock included nine sixes and three fours and marked her maiden century in white-ball cricket.
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Shafali’s century was also the first hundred scored in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. She reached the landmark in 49 deliveries, equalling Harmanpreet Kaur’s record for the fastest century by an Indian in women’s T20Is.
India got off to a flying start through Shafali and Smriti Mandhana. The opening pair added 72 runs before Mandhana was dismissed for a quick 37. During her innings, Mandhana achieved another major milestone by becoming the leading run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket.
Mandhana surpassed New Zealand’s Suzie Bates, who had previously held the record with 4,758 runs. The Indian opener reached the mark with back-to-back boundaries against Marufa Akter.
After Mandhana’s departure, Shafali continued her assault and found strong support from captain Harmanpreet Kaur. The skipper scored 40 off 33 balls before being stumped in the 18th over. Richa Ghosh was dismissed soon after, but Shafali remained unbeaten to take India close to the 200-run mark.
Bangladesh needed 196 runs for victory but struggled from the outset. India’s bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals, leaving the chase in tatters.
Dilara Akter was Bangladesh’s top scorer with 27 off 23 balls, but there was little support from the rest of the batting line-up. Nandani Sharma and Deepti Sharma claimed three wickets each, while Shree Char
