&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Asia Cup finalists India and Sri Lanka to fight for women’s Asian Games gold")
Shafali Verma’s maiden T20I hundred propelled the Indian women’s team into the final and the gold medal match against Sri Lanka at the ongoing Asian Games 2026. India thrashed Bangladesh by 114 runs in the second semifinal on Sunday (Sep 20), whereas Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the first semifinal to enter the final. India beat Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup final last Sunday (Sep 13) in Dubai. A 114-run win over Bangladesh is also India’s third-biggest win in the T20Is.
India batted first and smashed 195 for four in the 20 overs. Both openers Shafali and Smriti Mandhana entered history books for respective feats. While seasoned opener Mandhana surpassed New Zealand’s Suzie Bates to become the all-time leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, Shafali smashed her maiden T20I hundred, also becoming the first woman to score a hundred in this competition.
Also read| Asian Games 2026: Smriti Mandhana breaks T20I run record; Sri Lanka crush Pakistan to reach final
Mandhana departed on a quickfire 37, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur also missed her fifty by just 10 runs, after being stumped late in India’s innings. Shafali, however, was India’s best batter against Bangladesh. Impeccable with her timing, the 22-year-old, who made her T20I debut seven years ago in 2019, finally reached the three-digit score in this format.
Shafali clobbered nine massive sixes and three fours to reach her first T20I hundred off 49 deliveries, on the last ball of the innings.
Nandani, Deepti Pick 3 Wickets Each
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Bangladesh was never in the run chase, having lost three wickets for just 38 inside the Powerplay. Opener Dilara Akter was their best batter against India, scoring 27 runs as others failed to get going.
For India, seamer Nandani Sharma and veteran all-rounder Deepti Sharma picked up three wickets each, with Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also contributing with the wickets.
India and Sri Lanka will face off in the final on Tuesday (Sep 22), while Pakistan and Bangladesh will compete in the bronze medal match earlier on the same day.
