Women's Asia Cup 2026 | 'Deepti was excellent': Harmanpreet Kaur lauds bowler after Bangladesh thrashing

Harmanpreet Kaur. Pic/AFP

Defending champions India secured a place in the Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026 final with a convincing 40-run victory over Bangladesh in the first semifinal at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Opting to bat first, India posted a competitive total of 149/6, spearheaded by opener Shafali Verma's explosive 64 off 40 balls, along with crucial middle-order contributions from Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, and Deepti Sharma. India's spin attack then restricted Bangladesh's run chase, limiting them to 109/7. Deepti led the bowling attack with figures of 3/26, while Shree Charani chipped in with 1/14.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised her bowlers' discipline on a surface that offered some turn.

"Happy with the way things are going. Happy with the way our batting and bowling is going. There was a value to the good balls. If you were giving revs, then you were giving value to the balls. Spinners from both teams bowled well today; batters had it hard, spinners used the pitch really well," Harmanpreet said.

She also pointed out the crucial lower-order runs, adding, "The small partnerships matter, especially on a pitch like this. Richa also played a few valuable shots. Deepti was excellent with the ball and got us a few breakthroughs."

Bangladesh captain reacts after India loss

Player of the Match Shafali Verma said the extreme humidity made batting difficult and forced her to adjust her attacking approach.

"Very humid out there. Sometimes I can't even breathe, but I had to relax. I didn't get those balls early on, and I tried to play grounded, and I got a few chances. I know it's my job to hit sixes and fours in the powerplay, so I tried to do that." Verma said.

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana rued costly fielding errors and a lacklustre powerplay response.

"We didn't bowl well, unlike the other last three games. We fielded well in other games, not today; we put down chances. That was the pressure, I guess, just a bad day for the whole team," Nigar reflected. She added, "We really wanted to restrict them to a total we could chase; our batting powerplay was not good too. We bowled well, we created our chances, we couldn't capitalise."