Shafali Verma’s Knock Takes India Into Women’s Asia Cup Final
India continued their impressive record in the Women’s Asia Cup by reaching the final after defeating Bangladesh by 40 runs on Thursday. The victory strengthened India’s position as the most successful side in the competition, with seven titles to their name, including four in the 50 over format and three T20 titles.
Shafali Verma played a crucial role in India’s victory, scoring a fluent 64 from just 40 deliveries. Despite facing a difficult slow pitch where most batters struggled to score freely, Shafali found her rhythm and helped India post 149 for six.
The Indian opener was given several chances during her innings, being dropped three times at scores of 6, 11 and 56. Bangladesh were unable to capitalise on those opportunities as Shafali went on to make them pay with an attacking innings.
Given the nature of the pitch and the strength of India’s bowling unit, the target appeared to be within India’s reach to defend. Their bowlers delivered as expected, restricting Bangladesh to 109 for seven in their 20 overs.
Bangladesh made an attacking start through opener Juairiya Ferdous, who scored 14 from 18 balls. However, she and opening partner Dilara Akter, who made 21 from 26 deliveries, were dismissed while attempting to hit towards the mid wicket region.
Kranti Gaud produced an excellent running catch to dismiss Akter, providing one of the better fielding moments of the match on a day when India were not at their best in the field. Pratika Rawal also missed two chances, continuing an area of concern from the previous match.
India’s spin department once again proved decisive on a surface offering assistance. Deepti Sharma finished with three wickets for 26 runs, while Shree Charani took one wicket for 14 runs and Prema Rawat claimed one for 21.
The tournament has largely produced low scoring matches because of the slow pitches. India were aware that their total was competitive considering the conditions and Bangladesh’s batting strength, and their bowlers eventually confirmed that assessment with a comfortable victory.
India will now face either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the final, which is scheduled to be played on Sunday.
India entered the match as the defending force of the tournament and the most successful team in Women’s Asia Cup history. However, they had suffered a surprising defeat against Sri Lanka in the previous edition.
Earlier in the Indian innings, Bangladesh’s bowling attack managed to keep several of India’s experienced batters under control. Their disciplined bowling prevented India from scoring freely for much of the innings.
Bangladesh’s missed opportunities ultimately proved costly. Four dropped catches gave India additional chances and prevented Bangladesh from putting greater pressure on the batting side. Without those errors, India could have found it difficult to move beyond the 120 run mark.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 24 from 28 balls. Usually comfortable against spin, she found scoring difficult for much of her innings and managed only four runs from her first 16 deliveries.
Shafali, however, provided the acceleration India needed. She scored at a strike rate of 160 and struck three sixes against the spinners. Her innings included a variety of attacking strokes, including a front foot pull against Marufa Akter, a reverse sweep and powerful shots straight down the ground.
India reached 45 for one during the powerplay but struggled to increase the scoring rate during the middle overs.
Pratika Rawal, who has been under pressure after a difficult run in the tournament, began confidently on Thursday. She opened her account with a textbook cover drive against Marufa Akter and later advanced down the pitch to hit a six. She eventually fell to the same bowler after making 20 from 24 balls.
Richa Ghosh also took some time to settle, scoring 21 from 16 deliveries and contributing useful runs towards the end of the innings.
Harmanpreet Kaur then added valuable momentum late in the innings by hitting two sixes, helping India finish on 149 for six before their bowlers completed the job and secured another place in the Women’s Asia Cup final.