Shafali and Mandhana put on 129, and Sri Lanka were all out for 111
India beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Dubai to win the Women’s Asia Cup for an eighth time, two years after losing the final to the same opponents in Dambulla.
Sep 14, 2026
Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana added 129 for the first wicket at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night. Sri Lanka, chasing 184, were bowled out for 111 off the last ball of their 20 overs. India’s opening pair outscored the entire side that finished second.
A 24-ball fifty, and the fastest in the tournament’s history
Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and batted. Sri Lanka turned to spin in the second over and both openers went after it immediately. Shafali then mixed power with placement, using the pace on a short ball from outside off to steer it past short third before clipping a length ball through midwicket. When Chamari Athapaththu brought herself on in the fifth over, Shafali hit her back over her head and then over long-on. India were 57 without loss at the end of the powerplay.
Her fifty came off 24 balls. That is the fastest in Women’s T20 Asia Cup history, one better than the 25 Mandhana took against the same opponents in Sylhet in 2022. Mandhana had been scoring at close to a run a ball before she joined in, lofting Chamudi Praboda over long-on and cutting her way to a half-century of her own. India were 98 without loss at the halfway mark.
The 129 the pair put on is the highest stand for any wicket in the tournament, past the 128 Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma made against the UAE in 2022. It ended in the 13th over when Shafali mistimed Praboda to cover for 68 off 39. Six balls later Mandhana went too, run out for 59 after a mix-up with Harmanpreet. It was her third run out of the Asia Cup.
Sri Lanka bowled better at the death than at any stage before it and took Harmanpreet and Deepti off successive deliveries in the 19th over. That let in G Kamalini, playing her second T20I and her first match of this tournament, and she hit a four and a six off the last two balls to close India on 183 for 5.
Athapaththu’s stumping ended the chase
Imesha Dulani paddled Kranti Gaud past short fine leg for four, went for the shot again and was bowled on the fourth ball of the innings. Vishmi Gunaratne, who had rolled her ankle in the field earlier and been carried off on a stretcher, still walked out at No. 3 and put on 58 with her captain.
Athapaththu got off the mark on the eighth ball she faced and never quite broke out. She took a six and a four off Shafali, but a run a ball at the end of the powerplay was nowhere near what the target demanded. Deepti shortened her length in the tenth over, Athapaththu charged, the ball turned past the bat and Richa Ghosh had the bails off. Deepti bowled Gunaratne three balls later. Sri Lanka needed 121 from the last ten overs with seven wickets in hand.
Charani’s four for 20 closed it
N Shree Charani finished with 4 for 20 from four overs, one of them a maiden. She had Harshitha Samarawickrama caught and bowled for 9, then took Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshika Silva, the latter batting on 22 with a broken finger. Deepti’s figures were 3 for 19. India put down five catches in the innings and none of it cost them anything.
Deepti ends the Asia Cup as its leading wicket-taker with 14 from five matches at an average of 4.21. Charani is next on 12. Between them they gave away 39 runs in the final.
Eight titles, and the Dambulla result answered
This is India’s eighth Asia Cup and their fourth in the T20 format, extending a record no other team in the region has matched. It also settles something. Sri Lanka won their first Asia Cup in 2024, beating India by eight wickets in the Dambulla final. India now lead 6-1 in Asia Cup finals between the two.