Seven-time champions India will look to Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma to deliver once again when they take on a resilient Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday (September 13, 2026).

With 168 runs including two fifties, Shafali has not only been India’s best batter but also the leading run-scorer in this iteration of the continental event, going about her task unfazed by the slow and spin-friendly nature of the wickets here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Even as Smriti Mandhana (154) has blown hot and cold for having struck a brilliant century but also two single-digit scores, Shafali has been able to maintain consistency with the bat.

More importantly, Shafali has relatively executed her strokes with ease in games where others around her have struggled.

Deepti, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker alongside Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu with 11 wickets each, has been at the forefront of India’s bowling attack. Even with the bat, the senior Indian all-rounder has been a key presence. Her six-ball 13 against Bangladesh in the semifinal was instrumental in pushing the total close to the 150-mark.

With the parsimonious Shree Charani in the mix and Prema Rawat also finding her rhythm, Deepti leads the all-important spin attack which has played a dominant role in several matches of this tournament.

While both teams have wind in their sails having gone undefeated so far in their march to the final, India will be wary of the gritty Sri Lanka side which had handed them a crushing eight-wicket defeat in the last edition’s final in 2024.

Athapaththu’s side has displayed the same determination that their skipper has shown throughout her chequered career, with the most recent example being their perseverance to secure a win over Pakistan against the odds in the semifinal.

Being reduced to 5/2 inside the first two overs and slipping further to 33/4 in the seventh, Sri Lanka did not give up the chase of 131.

Harshitha Samarawickrama top-scored with 36 and found strong support from Kavisha Dilhari (33) at the other end to put Sri Lanka back on track, and the pair of Nilakshika Silva and Kaushini Nuthyangana finished the chase with calmness and composure in a tricky finish.

Two years ago in Dambulla, it was Harshitha who had teamed up with Athapaththu to defy India in the final, with both the Sri Lankan batters hitting half-centuries in a tall run chase.

With most of the players from the 2024 final finding themselves in the summit clash once again, Harmanpreet Kaur’s team would be determined to give no quarter, but there are some major concerns to address as well.

India came into the tournament with questions hovering over their collective batting form and sloppy fielding. Keeping aside Shafali’s form and Mandhana’s century two games ago, India would still need more from their other batters who have regularly failed to convert starts, along with a failure to find boundaries regularly.

Fielding still remains a major concern with India dropping four catches in the semifinal against a lowly Bangladesh, with two of them being spilled by Pratika Rawal.

Earlier, against Pakistan, India dropped three catches while restricting their arch-rivals to their lowest-ever T20I total.

Even against Thailand in their tournament opener, India had spilled two catches, which puts the number of dropped chances to an overall nine in four matches so far.

Teams (from): India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Gunalan Kamalini (wk), Pratika Rawal, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Prema Rawat, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani, Radha Yadav.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Harshitha Samarawickrama (vc), Imesha Dulani, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Sanjana Kavindi, Hasini Perera, Nilakshika Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Mithali Ayodhya, Kawya Kavindi, Sugandika Kumari, Nimasha Meepage, Chamudi Praboda, Chethana Vimukhti.

Match starts at 8:00 p.m. IST.

Published – September 13, 2026 03:15 am IST

Captain Chamari Athapaththu’s turbo-charged fifty combined well with the steadfast half-century of Harshitha Samarawickrama as a resilient Sri Lanka carved an eight-wicket win over defending champions India to bag their maiden women’s Asia Cup title on July 28.

This is the second time in nine Asia Cup editions (WODI and WT20I) across formats that India have lost a final. The last time India lost the final was against Bangladesh in 2018 in Kuala Lumpur.

Tasked with hunting down a strong target of 166, Sri Lanka served well by Athapaththu (61b, 43b, 9×4, 2×6) and Samarawickrama (69 not out, 51b, 6×4, 2×6) and finished at 167 for two in 18.4 overs.

Athapaththu and Samarawickrama added 87 runs as Lankans always stayed ahead of their opponents.

The stand for the for the second wicket was also of contrasts as Samarawickra was the yin to the yang of her aggressive leader.

Athapaththu fetched her fifty in 33 balls, and Samarawickrama went past her mark in 43 balls and their shot selection too was vastly differing.

Athapaththu scored through almost every reachable place on the field, and her assault on left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar, who she biffed for two fours and six in her first over, was stunning.

But at the other end, Samarawickrama clearly lacked the power of her senior but she offset that with clever placings, such as reverse sweeps off left-arm spinners Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.

But she picked up the tempo when Sri Lanka reached a rather safer zone, muscling a slog-swept six off Yadav over mid-wicket.

In between, Deepti managed to bowl Athapaththu around her legs with a fuller delivery that sparked celebrations among the Indians, who till then looked lethargic on the field.

But those merriments were premature as Samarawickrama found an able sidekick in Kavisha Dilhari (30 not out, 16b, 1×4, 2×6) as the duo added 73 runs off just 40 balls for the unbeaten third wicket to guide their side home.

But an equal share of credit should go to the Lankan bowlers as well for stifling a set of free-flowing India batters.

Smriti Mandhana’s conditions-defying half-century (60, 47b, 10×4) had powered India to a fighting 165 for six and she received reasonable backing from Jemimah Rodrigues (29, 16 balls, 3×4, 1×6) and Richa Ghosh (30, 14 balls, 4×4, 1×6).

But largely it was a tight contest for them against a plethora of Lankan spinners.

In fact, the home side included only one pacer in their ranks – Udeshika Prabodhani and the rest were slow bowlers.

The Lanka bowlers indeed made good use of a slow pitch as well, leaving the Indian batters a frustrated lot often.

It was evident from the struggles of Shafali Verma (16, 19 balls), who found it difficult to time her shots.

Mandhana had a massive slice of fortune when she was on 10 as her weak chip off spinner Dilhari (2/36) was put down at covers by Samarawickrama.

The left-hander made the hosts pay for that mistake with some gorgeous shots, especially against Prabodhani whom she carted for three fours in the sixth over as India reached 44 for no loss.

But Verma soon fell leg before to Dilhari after getting pinged on her pads while trying a tweak to the on-side.

As the Power Play came to an end, Mandhana had to resort to some improvisations such as scoops behind the stumper to get her boundaries.

The Indian vice-captain, who brought up her fifty in 36 balls, also often had to make room for herself or shuffle across the stumps to find the ropes because the ball was not exactly coming on to her bat.

While Mandhana managed to beat the slowness of the deck, it consumed Harmanpreet and Uma Chetry, who got a promotion to No. 3.

At 87 for three in the 12th over, India needed a move-on and it was given by an aggressive Rodrigues in the company of Mandhana, making 41 runs off 25 balls for the fourth wicket.

However, the run out of Rodrigues and the dismissal of Mandhana pushed India to 133 for five in 16.5 overs.

Ghosh played a typical swift innings that contained a massive slog-swept six off Dilhari over the mid-wicket.

In the company of Pooja Vastrakar, Ghosh milked 31 runs for the sixth wicket that carried India past the 160-run mark.

Brief Scores: India 165/6 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 60, Jemimah Rodgrigues 29, Richa Ghosh 30; Kavisha Dilhari 2/36) lost to Sri Lanka 167/2 in 18.4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 61, Harshitha Samarawickrama 69*, Kavisha Dilhari 30*; Deepti Sharma 1/30) by 8 wickets.