India Women qualified for the final of the women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games 2026 by defeating Bangladesh Women in the second semi-final. The Indian side came up with a great all-round performance as Shafali Verma made history with her first T20I ton.
Winning the toss, India batted first and scored a mammoth 195/4 in their 20 overs. Shafali Verma was the star, scoring an unbeaten 100 off just 49 balls. Her innings was studded with three fours and nine sixes.
Many reasons made the century a special one. It was Shafali’s first-ever century in T20Is and she became the first woman to score a century in the Asian Games. She also became the fourth Indian batter to score a hundred in women’s T20I cricket.
Shafali was India’s flying start with Smriti Mandhana. The first pair added 72 before Mandhana was dismissed for 37 off 19 balls. Mandhana hit five fours and two sixes in her innings.
Shafali Pushes India to 195
India then lost G Kamalini cheaply but Shafali carried on her aggressive batting. The two were joined by Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the two added a crucial 94-run partnership.
Harmanpreet played second fiddle scoring 40 off 33 balls with the help of six fours. Her partnership with Shafali helped India recover quickly from two early wickets and gave the team a good platform to launch an attack in the final overs.
Shafali continued attacking the Bangladesh bowlers, scoring her century in style. India scored 195/4 and she remained not out till the end of the innings.
Indian bowlers dominate
Bangladesh needed 196 runs to win and reach the final. But India's bowlers kept the pressure on early in the chase.
Bangladesh lost regular wickets and found themselves at 48/4 after 8.6 overs, leaving themselves with a huge task. In the end, India registered a comfortable victory to seal their place in the Asian Games final.
The result means India will now play for the gold medal. Sri Lanka had already booked a spot in the final after beating Pakistan in the first semi-final.
The historic innings played by Shafali made the win even more special for India. Her unbeaten 100 helped India score a big total and added another memorable chapter to her international career.
India who have booked their place in the gold medal match will look to finish their Asian Games campaign with another gold medal.