Women's Asia Cup: India beat Sri Lanka to reclaim title after Smriti Mandhana-Shafali Verma batting blitz

India won the Women’s Asia Cup title on Sunday after Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana powered the team to 183/5 before the bowlers restricted Sri Lanka to 111 in the final in Dubai.

India won by 72 runs, with Shree Charani leading the bowling attack with four wickets for 20 runs from her four overs. Deepti Sharma took 2/19, while Shafali Verma and Prema Rawat claimed one wicket each.

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Shafali-Mandhana rewrite record books

India had opted to bat first after winning the toss and got off to a flying start through Shafali and Mandhana.

Shafali smashed 68 off 39 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes, while Mandhana scored 59 off 39 balls, with five fours and three sixes. The pair added 129 runs for the opening wicket, the highest opening partnership in Women’s Asia Cup history.

Shafali reached her half-century in just 24 balls, setting a new record for the fastest fifty in Women’s Asia Cup history. She surpassed Mandhana’s previous mark of 25 balls, set against Sri Lanka in the 2022 edition.

Shafali finishes as top run-scorer

The knock also gave Shafali three fifty-plus scores in the ongoing edition, matching Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu’s record from the 2024 tournament.

Shafali finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, with 236 runs in five innings at an average of 47.20 and a strike rate of 171.01. She registered three fifties and a best score of 68.

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The opening stand between Shafali and Mandhana was also the highest partnership in a final of any Women’s T20I tournament. It surpassed the 120-run stand between West Indies’ Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor against Australia in the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup final.

Shafali and Mandhana have now put together six century stands in Women’s T20Is, tying UAE’s Esha Oza and Theertha Satish for the most 100-plus partnerships in the format.

Asia Cup: Sree Charani leads India's bowling attack

Sri Lanka struggled to keep up with the required rate in their chase. Athapaththu top-scored with 36 off 32 balls, while Vishmi Gunaratne made 20 off 22 and Nilakshika Silva scored 22 off 16.

Charani then broke through repeatedly, taking four wickets as Sri Lanka slipped to 111 in 20 overs.

Athapaththu was stumped by Richa Ghosh off Deepti Sharma, while Gunaratne was also dismissed by the off-spinner. Charani accounted for Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika Silva, Kavisha Dilhari and Sugandika Kumari.

India reclaim Asia Cup title

The result gave India their eighth Women’s Asia Cup title. Sri Lanka had won the previous edition in 2024, defeating India in the final for their maiden title.

India’s victory also saw the team reclaim the title after the 2024 final defeat.