Defending champions India eye Asian Games final against Bangladesh

Defending champions India Women aim to reach the Asian Games final when they face Bangladesh in the semifinal on September 20.

India won gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

They come into the match after an eight-wicket win over Japan in the quarterfinal.

Bangladesh advanced after their quarterfinal against China was abandoned because of weather.

The match begins at 10:30 am IST.

In that match, Japan were bowled out for 57 in 19.5 overs, with Sree Charani taking four wickets.

India then chased down the target in only five overs, with Shafali Verma hitting 40 off 15 balls.

Bangladesh reached the semifinal after their weather-affected quarterfinal against China was abandoned, and the higher-ranked side advanced without playing.

India are the strong favourites and have an unbeaten record in recent T20 matches, according to a match preview.

The two teams met earlier in September in the Women’s Asia Cup semifinal, where India won by 40 runs.

In that Asia Cup semifinal, Shafali Verma scored 64 and Deepti Sharma took three wickets for 26 runs.

India’s squad is led by Harmanpreet Kaur and includes Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh.

The match will be televised on the Sony Sports Network and streamed on SonyLIV.

The Asian Games officially opened on September 19, although women’s cricket matches began earlier in the week.

A preview of the match noted that dot balls were a concern for Bangladesh as they look to test the favourites.

India are aiming to reach a second consecutive Asian Games final in women’s cricket after their gold at Hangzhou.

The semifinal is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 10:30 am IST at the Korogi Sports Park in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games venues.

It is a Twenty20 match, and the winner advances to the gold medal match.

India Women are the defending champions, having won gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Cricket stadium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0