It has been three years and eight games since Bangladesh beat India in Women’s T20Is. You have to go back to 2018 when Bangladesh registered back-to-back wins over India in Kuala Lumpur to claim the Asia Cup title for the first time. That is exactly what Bangladesh would be hoping for when they face India in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 semi-final in Dubai on September 10 (Thursday).
Who has the upper hand?
India have been formidable in every match so far and go into this match on the back of a thorough performance against arch-rivals Pakistan, who they bundled out for just 55.
Bangladesh too have not been bad with the ball. They bowled Indonesia out for 58 in the first match and then restricted UAE to 69/9. In between those two performances, they pushed Sri Lanka till the last over after putting up just 114 on the board.
Batting has been tough this tournament. In fact, 150 has been breached just twice and on both occasions, it was India who did it. Hence, it would be safe to assume that we could once again see a low-scoring encounter.
Speaking ahead of the match, Bangladesh batter Sharmin Akhter said that they cannot think of winning the Asia Cup without believing they can beat India.
“If we don’t even believe that we can beat India, then we shouldn’t even dream of becoming Asia Cup champions. I firmly believe that to win the Asia Cup, you inevitably have to face India at some stage, whether in the semifinal or the final. You must have that self-belief,” she told Cricbuzz.
Spinners key
Spinners will be of the essence going into this encounter. It has been a tournament in which spinners have dominated proceedings. Marufa Akter (7) is the only pacer among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament, with Indian spinners Deepti Sharma (8) and Shree Charani (7) among the top three.
It is expected to be hot and humid in Dubai, with the temperature expected to go as high as 37°C. As a result, dew might play a huge part in the game, especially during the chase.
Likely XIs
India have gone in with an unchanged side throughout the tournament, and will be expected to go in with the same XI for this crucial encounter as well.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma
Bangladesh, in comparison, have used as many as 14 players in the tournament but might not want to make many changes to the side that eased past UAE in the last game.
Bangladesh: Dilara Akter, Sharmin Akhter, Juairiya Ferdous, Sobhana Mostary, Nigar Sultana (c & wk), Shorna Akter, Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, Sultana Khatun, Marufa Akter, Fahima Khatun
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