PAK W vs SL W: The second semi-final of the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup was played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai. Continuing their unbeaten run in the tournament, defending champions Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 4 wickets to secure a spot in the final. Sri Lanka scored 133 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 18.5 overs. Sri Lanka will now face India in the final on Sunday, September 13. These two teams had also faced each other in the previous final. This marks Sri Lanka’s third consecutive Asia Cup final appearance.
Chasing a target of 131 runs, Sri Lanka did not get off to a good start. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, shining with the ball after a great batting performance, dealt two early blows to Sri Lanka in the second over itself. This included the crucial wicket of captain Chamari Athapaththu. Although Imesha Dulani scored 24 runs, Sri Lanka had lost 4 wickets for just 33 runs.
Fatima Sana’s efforts go in vain
Harshitha Samarawickrama, the star of the previous match, proved to be the match-winner this time as well, steadying the Sri Lankan innings alongside Kavisha Dilhari. The duo shared an excellent half-century partnership, adding 67 runs for the fifth wicket. Fatima Sana claimed her third wicket by dismissing Harshitha for 36 runs. In the same over, she took her fourth wicket by getting Kavisha Dilhari out for 33.
However, these two wickets were not enough; Nilakshika Silva played a brilliant cameo of 18 runs off 10 balls towards the end, guiding the team to victory. Wicketkeeper-batter Kaushini also contributed, remaining unbeaten on 10 runs off 4 balls. Ultimately, Fatima’s efforts with both bat and ball could not save the team, and Pakistan was eliminated after losing the semi-final.
Earlier, batting first after losing the toss, Pakistan had scored 130 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. For Pakistan, captain Fatima Sana played an excellent unbeaten innings of 47 runs off 36 balls. She struck four fours and two sixes, guiding her team to a respectable total, though it ultimately proved insufficient (PAK W vs SL W).
After the match, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana said, “Most of the things went well, but the last bit, the Sri Lankan middle order took the game away. I think the way Harshitha and Kavisha played, They are good in singles. So credit goes to them. 130 was a defendable score. The fielding at the end, and we were giving a lot of runs at the end. So that was close. But there is a little bit of improvement in the batting side. Hopefully next time we will come with a good batting unit.”
Sri Lanka head coach during the post-match press conference said, “”We came in with a positive mindset, but Pakistan tried to make sure they put a good score on the board. 130 was a little bit more than we were hoping for. We felt like we had a bowling attack where we could restrict them a little bit less than that—maybe 115 like the game before.”
“We’re a team in progress. We’re trying to become a team that beats big sides like India and the other sides ahead of us in the world rankings. We’ve got some areas we need to tidy up—we can’t be as inconsistent in our powerplays, that’s one thing we need to get better at. I think we’re still bowling a little bit wide outside off-stump and giving free hits to batters. We’ll tidy that up. Neither side was great in the field today, but we were not as good as we would like to be.”
India’s chance for revenge
The final will see two unbeaten teams face off. India has reached the final undefeated, having won both their league stage and semi-final matches. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan team has remained unbeaten since the last Asia Cup; notably, Sri Lanka defeated India in the final of the previous edition. India now has an opportunity for revenge, though defeating a Sri Lankan side that has remained unbeaten in the Asia Cup for the last 8–9 matches will not be easy for the ODI World Champions. This high-voltage final is scheduled for ‘Super Sunday’ at the Dubai International Stadium.
Brief scores: Pakistan 130/5 in 20 overs (Fatima Sana 47* off 36, Shawaal Zulfiqar 24 off 16; Chamari Athapaththu 2-24, Chamudi Praboda 2-25) lost to Sri Lanka 134/6 in 18.4 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 36, Kavisha Dilhari 33; Fatima Sana 4-38) by 4 wickets.
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