Dubai, Sep 13 : India posted a strong total of 183/5 against Sri Lanka in the final of the Women's Asia Cup 2026 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, riding on half-centuries from Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana and their record 129-run opening stand.
Shafali (68 off 39 balls) smashed the fastest fifty in the history of the Asia Cup, reaching her milestone in just 24 balls to give the Women in Blue a strong platform alongside Mandhana, who made a composed 59 off 39 deliveries.
The two put on a record 129-run stand for the opening wicket as India dominated the first half of the innings after opting to bat first. However, Sri Lanka made a comeback in the latter part of the innings, with Chamari Athapaththu, Mithali Ayodhya and Chamudi Praboda taking wickets, while the Women in Blue lost Mandhana and Deepti to run-outs.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur struggled after promoting herself to No. 3, as incumbent one-drop Pratika Rawal was "rested" for G Kamalini in the final. The skipper made only 14. Playing her first match of the tournament, Kamalini gave the final flourish with a five-ball 15, including a six and a four, to take the Women in Blue to 183/5. For Sri Lanka, Ayodhya, Athapaththu and Praboda each took one wicket.
India and Sri Lanka exchanged blows in the first over, as Mithali Ayodhya bowled a few impressive Yorkers, with the two Indian openers keeping them out.
Sri Lanka made errors in their lines and lengths as Shafali and Mandhana began punishing the opposition bowlers. After starting with four dot balls, Shafali hit three fours off her next six balls, while Mandhana also kept finding boundaries.
Shafali hit the first six of the final when she smashed joint-leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Athapaththu, over long-on in the fifth over, and the ball went for 20 runs.
However, left-arm finger-spinner Sugandika Kumari bowled a two-run sixth over, as the Women in Blue ended the powerplay on 57/0.
Shafali quickly brought up her 21st T20I fifty and the fastest in Women's Asia Cup history in the eighth over, smashing Kavisha Dilhari for a four. Mandhana followed suit, racing to her 36th T20I fifty in the 11th over. The Indian openers notched up a huge 129-run opening stand, which came to an end when Shafali was caught at covers by Athapaththu off left-arm spinner Chamudi Praboda.
The 129-run stand is now the highest in a Women's T20 tournament final, surpassing the previous best of 120, set by Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor in the 2016 Women's T20 World Cup win over Australia. It is also the highest in the Women's T20 Asia Cup for any wicket, surpassing the 128-run stand between Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma against the UAE in 2022.
While India dominated the first 12 overs, the defending champions made a comeback when Shafali and Mandhana were dismissed in successive overs. Mandhana was run out for the third time in this tournament after she sacrificed herself for captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who cut one to point as a mix-up caused the wicket.
While Harmanpreet promoted herself to No.3, Ghosh also came out to bat at No.4, looking to add some flourish. Ghosh hit a four and a six but was dismissed by Athapaththu in the 18th over, top-edging a sweep to covers. With this, Athapaththu surpassed Deepti to become the tournament's highest wicket-taker, with the Indian yet to bowl.
Sri Lanka's comeback got another shot in the arm when captain Harmanpreet holed out to deep midwicket for 14, while Deepti Sharma was run out off the very next ball, as India were 167/5 after 19 overs.
However, Kamalini delivered the final bit of fireworks with a four and a six off the final two balls as India took 16 off the last over to finish with a strong total.
Women's Asia Cup Final: Shafali, Mandhana take India to 183/5 against Sri Lanka
