Riding a blistering start from their openers and a disciplined bowling display, India lifted their eighth Women’s Asia Cup trophy, their fourth in the T20 format, thrashing defending champions Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Dubai.
The foundation was laid by Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, who stitched together 129 runs for the opening wicket, the biggest partnership for any position in the history of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. Their assault propelled India to a formidable 183 for 5. Shafali raced to fifty off just 24 balls, the quickest half century the tournament has ever seen, while Mandhana followed with her own fifty from 36 deliveries before a mix up ran her out for 59.
Chasing 184, Sri Lanka never found their rhythm. Imesha Dulani fell early attempting an ambitious scoop, and though captain Chamari Athapaththu counterattacked with some fine strokes to top score with 36, her stumping off Deepti Sharma triggered a collapse. From there, India’s spin duo of Deepti and N Shree Charani strangled the innings, sharing seven wickets between them and finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket takers. Despite grassing five catches in the field, India’s bowlers gave Sri Lanka no room to recover, wrapping up the innings for 111 off the final ball.
The victory extends India’s supremacy over Sri Lanka in Asia Cup finals to 6 wins from 7 meetings, cementing their status as the region’s dominant force in women’s cricket.
