Bangladesh defeated UAE in the final group match of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 being played in Dubai and secured a place in the semi-finals. Bangladesh won the 12th match against UAE by 34 runs. With this, it has also been confirmed that the Indian cricket team will face Bangladesh in the first semi-final.In the low-scoring match played at the Dubai International Stadium, Bangladesh, after losing the toss and opting to bat, scored 103 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. In reply, UAE batsmen could only reach 69 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.
Bangladesh managed to score 103/7
Bangladesh suffered an early blow in the form of Dilara Akhtar (0) on the third ball of the match. Till then the team had not opened their account. After this, Sobhana Mostari (3) also returned to the pavilion at the score of 8. From here, captain Nigar Sultana along with Juairiya Ferdous made a partnership of 29 runs in 37 balls for the third wicket and took the team to the score of 37.
Ferdous was out after scoring 16 runs in 20 balls with 2 fours. From here, captain Nigar Sultana made a partnership of 15 runs for the fourth wicket with Sharmin Akhtar and took the team past the half-century mark. Sultana was out after scoring 23 runs in 28 balls with 3 fours. For UAE, Suraksha Kotte took three wickets for 11 runs in four overs, while Indhuja Nandakumar took two wickets.
In reply, UAE could score only 69 runs in the stipulated 20 overs by losing 9 wickets. For this team, Theertha Satish scored 11 runs and Heena Hotchandani scored 18 runs. Apart from these, no other batsman could touch the double digit figure. For Bangladesh, Rabia Khan took maximum 3 wickets, while Marufa Akhtar and Nahida Akter got 2 wickets each. Apart from these, Sultana Khatun and Fahima Khatun got 1-1 success.
“I’m really proud of the way the girls came out and bowled”
After the match UAE skipper Esha Oza said, “I think the way we came out in the first innings put a big, big weight under the team. Against such an experienced side and doing what we did in a must-win game, I’m really proud of the way the girls came out and bowled. But again, something we spoke about just after the game as well, to bridge the gap between us and them, I think it’s the batting that keeps lacking within the Associate teams. That’s something we need to work on. I think they showed that. When they lost six wickets, they still had that partnership and they built that through. They attacked and they took time. It’s something we need to work on to bridge the gap between Associates and Full Members out there.”
On the experience of hosting the tournament at home, she adde, “It’s been an amazing experience. First of all, to play at this ground, it’s an amazing experience. And then to have so many people come out and support us, it’s great to see how much support we’re getting as a women’s team and great to see so many young ones come and watch this game as well. Hopefully, we’ve been able to inspire them. We haven’t gotten to the next round, but hopefully a few of them maybe in the coming years take us to the next round.”
Other the other side Sharmin Akter of Bangladesh said, “It was a very crucial game for both teams. UAE bowled really well and gave us a very good challenge, especially initially. We’re really happy that we could at least achieve 100-plus runs that we can fight with.” On facing India in the semis she added, “A particular day is very important. They’re a very good side and very strong side, so we will definitely look to play our A game on that particular day. The result will come at the end of the day. We just wanted to give our 100 percent and really want to execute ourselves in the middle.”
Brief scores: Bangladesh 103/7 (Sharmin Akhter 38; Suraksha Kotte 3-11) beat UAE 69/9 in 20 overs (Heena Hotchandani 18; Rabeya Khan 3-14) by 34 runs
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