Dubai, Sep 2026 : What promised to be another fiercely contested India-Pakistan encounter in the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup turned into a one-sided affair as India’s spinners produced a stunning bowling performance to dismiss Pakistan for just 55 before completing a seven-wicket victory in 8.4 overs on Saturday.
Playing in sweltering conditions with temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius, India delivered a clinical performance on a fresh pitch that offered considerable grip and turn. The quartet of N. Sree Charani, Prema Rawat, Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma exploited the conditions brilliantly, repeatedly deceiving Pakistan’s batters with flight, drift and changes in pace.
The victory extended India’s dominance over their neighbours, giving them a fifth consecutive T20I win against Pakistan. India had also entered the contest with a strong recent record, having defeated Pakistan in their previous four meetings across formats.
Pakistan’s decision to bat first raised eyebrows, and their innings never developed the momentum required to put pressure on India. There was some early intent from openers Shawaal Zulfiqar and Muneeba Ali, but India’s disciplined bowling soon exposed Pakistan’s vulnerability against spin.
Kranti Gaud opened the bowling and immediately found movement, with her first delivery seaming away to beat Muneeba’s outside edge. Shawaal responded by striking consecutive boundaries off Gaud and Nandni Sharma, while Muneeba was fortunate to survive two early chances dropped by Pratika Rawal.
India eventually broke through when Shafali Verma bowled Muneeba for 13, triggering a dramatic collapse. Sree Charani then took control during the final powerplay, dismissing Gull Feroza for a duck and trapping Shawaal lbw for 14.
Charani continued her outstanding spell by claiming Ayesha Zafar, who was caught at mid-on by Harmanpreet Kaur. The dismissal was particularly significant as Harmanpreet was leading India in her 150th game as captain.
Prema Rawat joined the wicket-taking spree by bowling Sadaf Shamas, while Deepti Sharma trapped Pakistan captain Fatima Sana lbw without scoring. Eyman Fatima attempted to resist and struck the final boundary of Pakistan’s innings, but a mix-up with Umm-e-Hani resulted in her run-out for five.
Rawat returned to dismiss Umm-e-Hani, who top-edged a sweep to short fine leg, before completing an impressive three-wicket haul by catching Nashra Sandhu off her own bowling. She finished with figures of 3-9, while Charani was even more economical, claiming 3-7 from her four overs.
Charani was particularly destructive, extracting sharp turn and drift while maintaining remarkable control over her length. Pakistan’s batters repeatedly attempted to attack her but were unable to find the gaps, instead offering catching opportunities to India’s fielders.
Deepti Sharma completed Pakistan’s innings in the 19th over when she deceived Tuba Hassan in flight. Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh completed a sharp stumping, bringing an end to an innings in which Pakistan’s batting completely unravelled against India’s disciplined spin attack.
Chasing only 56 for victory, India made an explosive start. Shafali Verma launched the very first delivery from Sadia Iqbal over long-off for a six, immediately signalling the ease with which India intended to approach the chase.
The boundary also marked a personal milestone for Shafali, who became the youngest batter to reach 3,000 runs in women’s T20Is at the age of 22 years and 220 days. She also achieved the milestone in the fewest balls faced, taking 2,182 deliveries.
However, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana briefly revived hopes of a fightback. She dismissed Shafali for 12 after inducing a soft leading edge and completing the catch herself. Fatima then removed Pratika Rawal for four, caught behind.
Her impressive spell continued when she trapped Smriti Mandhana lbw in her second over after the Indian opener had struck her for a boundary. India were suddenly reduced to 29/3 in the fourth over.
Fatima’s three-wicket burst also earned her a place in an exclusive statistical group. She became only the fourth bowler from a full-member nation to take three wickets inside the powerplay in a women’s T20I on two occasions.
Despite the setback, India remained firmly in control. Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma combined calmly to guide the team towards victory. Rather than taking unnecessary risks, the experienced pair rotated the strike and used soft hands to keep the scoreboard moving.
Deepti released some of the pressure in the seventh over when she stepped out to Nashra Sandhu and lofted the left-arm spinner over mid-wicket for four. Harmanpreet then produced the decisive blow in the ninth over.
After narrowly surviving a chance at mid-on that evaded Fatima Sana’s outstretched hands for four, Harmanpreet advanced down the pitch and lofted Nashra cleanly over long-on for six, sealing India’s comprehensive seven-wicket victory.
Brief scores: Pakistan 55 all out in 18.1 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 14, Muneeba Ali 13; N. Sree Charani 3-7, Prema Rawat 3-9) lost to India 57/3 in 8.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 18 not out, Shafali Verma 12; Fatima Sana 3-17) by seven wickets.
