India have reclaimed the Women’s Asia Cup emphatically, crushing defending champions Sri Lanka by 72 runs in Dubai to secure a record-extending eighth continental title.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s side produced a dominant all-round display at Dubai International Stadium, posting 183 for five before dismissing Sri Lanka for 111 on the final ball of the innings. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana laid the foundation with a record 129-run opening partnership before Sree Charani and Deepti Sharma dismantled Sri Lanka’s chase.
The victory gave India their eighth Women’s Asia Cup crown overall and their fourth in the T20 format, restoring their place at the top of Asian women’s cricket after Sri Lanka beat them in the 2024 final.
India won the toss and elected to bat, with Shafali immediately setting an aggressive tone.
The 22-year-old blasted 68 from 39 balls, striking nine fours and two sixes, while Mandhana compiled 59 from 39 deliveries.
Shafali reached her half-century from just 24 balls, setting a new record for the fastest fifty in Women’s Asia Cup history and breaking Mandhana’s previous mark of 25 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022.
The opening pair added 129 in 12.5 overs, establishing the highest partnership for any wicket in Women’s Asia Cup history.
Their stand also became the highest partnership in the final of a women’s T20 international tournament, surpassing the 120-run partnership between Hayley Matthews and Stafanie Taylor during the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup final.
India raced to 57 without loss at the end of the powerplay and reached 98 after 10 overs as Shafali repeatedly attacked the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The breakthrough finally came when Shafali was caught off Chamudi Praboda. Mandhana followed soon afterwards after being run out following a mix-up with Harmanpreet.
India were 140 for two after 15 overs, but Sri Lanka managed to slow the scoring rate during the closing stages.
Harmanpreet made 14 and Richa Ghosh added 17 from 13 balls before a late five-ball 15 helped India reach 183 for five from their 20 overs.
Despite conceding a formidable target, Sri Lanka had managed to restrict India to 43 runs from the final five overs, giving the defending champions some hope heading into the chase.
That hope quickly began to fade.
Sri Lanka lost Imesha Dulani in the opening over before captain Chamari Athapaththu attempted to rebuild alongside Vishmi Gunaratne.
Athapaththu attacked during the powerplay and took Sri Lanka to 38 for one after six overs, but India’s spinners took control once the field restrictions were lifted.
Deepti delivered the decisive blow in the 10th over.
Athapaththu, who top-scored with 36 from 32 balls, was beaten in flight and stumped by Richa Ghosh before Gunaratne was bowled three deliveries later.
Sri Lanka slumped to 63 for three at the halfway mark with the required rate climbing beyond 12 runs an over.
From there, Sree Charani took over.
The left-arm spinner worked through Sri Lanka’s middle and lower order to finish with outstanding figures of four for 20 from her four overs.
Deepti returned three for 19 as India steadily dismantled the defending champions.
Sri Lanka eventually finished 111 all out from 20 overs, 72 runs short of the target.
The performance capped a strong tournament for Shafali, who finished with three scores of 50 or more and produced her biggest innings in the match that mattered most.
Her partnership with Mandhana also reinforced the pair’s standing as one of the most productive opening combinations in women’s T20 international cricket.
But India’s victory was followed by another extraordinary Asia Cup trophy presentation controversy involving Asian Cricket Council president and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
India did not accept the Women’s Asia Cup trophy from Naqvi following the match.
Sri Lanka’s players went on stage to receive their runners-up medals and captain Chamari Athapaththu took part in the presentation, but India’s players were absent when the winning trophy was due to be presented. The broadcast subsequently returned to its post-match coverage without the usual footage of the champions lifting the trophy.
India head coach Amol Muzumdar later confirmed that the position had been taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and that the team stood behind it.
Muzumdar said India regarded the tournament as finished and were satisfied with being officially recognised as champions, before turning their focus towards the Asian Games.
The episode mirrored the controversy surrounding the 2025 men’s Asia Cup final.
After India defeated Pakistan in that final, the Indian men’s team refused to accept the trophy from Naqvi amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent military confrontation.
The presentation was delayed and India eventually celebrated without the physical trophy. The BCCI later accused Naqvi of leaving with the trophy and said it would raise the matter with the International Cricket Council.
The unresolved men’s trophy dispute meant Naqvi’s planned attendance at the Women’s Asia Cup final had already generated considerable attention before Sunday’s match.
That tension ultimately carried into the women’s competition, despite the final itself being between India and Sri Lanka.
For India, however, the cricket was decisive.
Mandhana and Shafali produced a record-breaking start, Charani delivered the standout bowling spell of the final, and Deepti provided the experience needed to shut down Sri Lanka’s chase.
India may have left the presentation without physically lifting the trophy, but on the scoreboard there was no ambiguity.
A 72-run victory had made them Asian champions for the eighth time.
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