Dubai, September 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India spinner Deepti Sharma said the team will closely watch the second semifinal between Pakistan and defending champions Sri Lanka to sharpen its strategy for the Women’s Asia Cup final, after her three-wicket haul helped India beat Bangladesh by 40 runs.
Deepti returned figures of 3-26 as India restricted Bangladesh to 109/7 after posting 149/6 in the first semifinal at the Dubai International Stadium. The victory took seven-time champions India into the title clash, where they will meet either Pakistan or Sri Lanka.
Speaking after the match, Deepti said the Indian team would watch the second semifinal together before finalising its approach for the championship match.
“We’ll sit together tomorrow, and we will see tomorrow’s game; that will help us to do more strategy towards the finals,” she said.
Asked whether India would prefer Pakistan or Sri Lanka as their final opponents, Deepti said the team would be ready for whoever qualifies.
She stressed that India does not take any opponent lightly and would focus on improving its collective performance regardless of whether the final opponent is Sri Lanka, Pakistan or another team.
Deepti acknowledged that India had some lapses in the field but backed the team to deliver in the final. She said the players had worked extensively on catching and fielding during training and that occasional mistakes could happen in a match.
India’s victory was set up by an aggressive 64 off 40 balls from Shafali Verma, who struck seven boundaries and three sixes on a slow Dubai surface. Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 24, while Richa Ghosh contributed a quick 21 off 16 balls as India recovered from Smriti Mandhana’s early dismissal.
Bangladesh struggled to build momentum against India’s spin attack. Dilara Akter top-scored with 21, while Shorna Akter remained unbeaten on 22. Deepti dismissed Sohana Mostary and Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana to strengthen India’s grip on the contest.
Nandani Sharma took 2-10, while Shree Charani and Prema Rawat claimed one wicket each as Bangladesh finished on 109/7 in their 20 overs.
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