India booked their place in the women’s cricket gold-medal match at the 2026 Asian Games with a commanding 114-run victory over Bangladesh in Sunday’s semifinal.
Shafali Verma smashed her maiden T20I century, remaining unbeaten on 100 off 49 balls as India posted 196 runs. Her explosive innings included three fours and nine sixes.
Shafali also shared a 94-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored 40 off 33 balls, after Smriti Mandhana made 37 from 19 deliveries.
Bangladesh struggled in the chase, losing three wickets during the PowerPlay. Opener Dilara Akter top-scored with 27 off 23 balls, but four of Bangladesh’s top six batters were dismissed for single-digit scores.
Nandni Sharma and Deepti Sharma claimed three wickets each as Bangladesh were restricted, handing India a convincing 114-run victory.
India will now face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match, in a repeat of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games final, where India defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs to win gold.
The two sides also met in the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai, with India securing a 72-run victory.
