India vs Bangladesh Semi-Final: How Shafali Got Away With It
Shafali Verma got away with one too many mistakes in Dubai. Bangladesh put her down on 6, put her down again on 11, and then botched a run out chance once she was already past fifty. None of it stuck. In the India vs Bangladesh semi final event at the Women’s Asia Cup 2026, and by then India had already had a great score that was hard for Bangladesh to chase.
Bangladesh Win the Toss, India Stumble Early
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl. In the beginning, this decision seemed to be right. Smriti Mandhana got out for 2 runs, and India required some sort of stability at the wicket.
Smriti Mandhana had scored a record 124 runs against Hong Kong just a few days back to help India qualify for the semifinals of this tournament. No one in the Bangladesh team could have anticipated how costly this error in the field was going to prove to be for them and that mistake shaped the rest of this India vs Bangladesh Women’s Asia Cup match.
Three Chances Bangladesh Couldn’t Hold
Bangladesh got three chances to get Shafali Verma out early, but missed each one. Those Shafali Verma three dropped catches gave her the time to stay in and change the course of the game.
It started in the second over. Shafali went hard at a short ball from Sultana Khatun, and the shot flew toward long on, not a difficult take on paper. Fahima Khatun got both hands to it while running back but couldn’t hold on. Six runs, and she should have been gone.
Two overs later, Bangladesh got another look. A mistimed swing off Marufa Akter dropped short of mid on.
The third one came much later. Shafali had already crossed fifty and the game had shifted hard toward India. A quick single turned messy in the middle of the pitch, and Bangladesh had a run out chance sitting right in front of them. The throw missed. Shafali stayed on 56 and kept batting, and Bangladesh’s bowlers had one more problem to deal with.
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Shafali Cuts Loose After the Reprieves
Once those chances came and went, Shafali stopped playing it safe. Marufa Akter was taken off the front foot by her, and she hit a reverse sweep shot when there was some spin. Whenever there was some length that could help, she hit it firmly down the ground.
The Shafali Verma 64 runs came in just 40 balls and she scored 7 fours and 3 sixes, with a strike rate of 160. She got out in the 14th over as she was caught by Sultana Khatun. No one at the ground was thinking she would be still batting till that point of time because of the way she had started her innings.
Other players also contributed in the match. Pratik Rawal secured 20 runs in 24 balls while Richa Ghosh secured 21 runs in 16 balls. Harmanpreet Kaur managed to stay on the pitch and was not out when she was with 24 runs which she secured while facing 28 balls.
This also includes handful of sixes and another player Deepti Sharma secured 13 runs by tackling 6 balls this was during the death overs.
Indian cricket team managed to secure overall 149 runs with 6 wickets in hand.
Bangladesh Never Get Close in the Chase
A target of 150 is not impossible, but Bangladesh never looked close to it in this India Bangladesh semi-final. Dilara Akter top scored with 21. Nigar Sultana managed 19. Akter failed to score 21 runs off 16 deliveries but even after that, the run rate kept increasing to an unattainable level.
Deepti Sharma claimed 3 wickets for 26 runs which makes her the most economical bowler in the match. Shree Charani and Prema Rawat both claimed 1 wicket each. The total of Bangladesh was 109 runs for the loss of India won the game by 40 runs.
A Costly Night in the Field for Bangladesh
Cricket at this level rarely comes down to skill alone. If either of those first two chances had stuck, Shafali walks back for single digits, and India’s total probably drops by thirty or forty runs. Instead, a well set batter got to keep batting, and Bangladesh’s bowlers never found a way to pull the innings back under control. Whoever was coaching the fielding unit that night has some film to review.
A dropped chance in a group stage game gets forgotten by the next fixture. A dropped chance in an India vs Bangladesh knockout match gets replayed on highlight reels for weeks. This semi-final falls firmly in the second category, and it will likely get brought up again once the final gets underway.
Where India Goes From Here
This win is now officially sending India to the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 finale this will be their sixth time showing up in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. The wait is now between the PAK and SL teams. Follow playcric for daily cricket updates and match breakdowns from the rest of the Women’s Asia Cup.
