Heavyweights collide for continental glory as India-W seek vengeance against Sri Lanka-W
As the dust settles in Dubai, India will be duking it out with Sri Lanka for the prized Asia Cup title. In what is going to be a repeat clash of last iteration’s final, India will be meeting Sri Lanka again, hoping to avenge their defeat in the summit clash of the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup.
Both the heavy-hitters of the tournament have navigated their way to the summit clash in scintillating fashion, winning all of their games in emphatic fashion. India started their campaign with a massive win against Thailand before Smriti Mandhana left Hong Kong in utter disarray. In what was a sensational bowling performance, the Women in Blue schooled Pakistan in the last group stage clash before hammering Bangladesh in the semi-final.
Sri Lanka also got off to a rollicking start, brushing aside UAE comfortably in their tournament opener. They doubled down the charge on Indonesia before securing the bragging rights against Bangladesh in the last over in their final group stage game. They shot down the target set by Pakistan in the semi-final to make it to the summit clash where they will be up against India.
For both the teams, their bowlers have been in phenomenal shape so far while the surface in Dubai has been pretty conducive as well. The batters will have to find some significant momentum if they are to make this a high-scoring contest. India will have to rely on two of their top batters in the form of Shafali Verma who has got 168 runs in her tally and Smriti Mandhana who broke all records in a solitary game.
Sri Lanka, of course, will be pinning their hopes on their captain, Chamari Athapathu who has picked 11 wickets and has scored 63 runs as well. She has been backed well by the seasoned Nilakshika de Silva who has racked up 86 runs while Harshitha Samarawickrama has topped the scoring charts for the Lankans with 89 runs to her tally.
One can expect the stakes to be higher than ever as India search for vengeance while Sri Lanka will be hopeful of coming down heavily against the Indians in order to recreate their heroics from last edition’s final.
Venue Watch:
Dubai’s pitch continues to be a major bother for the batters. With the ball gripping and the odd bounce, batters will have to be wary, if they want to get off the shelves firing on all cylinders. Turners will of course be having a significant advantage coming in, considering the visible dust trails in the other games.
Match details:
Match: India vs Sri Lanka, Final, ACC Women’s Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Date: 13th September, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM IST
Head-to-head:
Matches played – 31
India – 25
Sri Lanka - 5
Squads:
India:
Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Shafali Verma, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Gunalan Kamalini (wicketkeeper), Arundhati Reddy, Prema Rawat, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Renuka Singh Thakur, Nandni Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Pratika Rawal.
Sri Lanka:
Chamari Athapaththu (c), Mithali Ayodhya, Kavisha Dilhari, Imesha Dulani, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kawya Kavindi, Sanjana Kavindi, Sugandika Kumari, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Hasini Perera, Chamudi Praboda, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika Silva, Dewmi Vihanga, Chethana Vimukthi
