India produced a dominant all-round display to sweep past Bangladesh by 114 runs in the women's T20 semifinal at the Asian Games 2026 in Nisshin on Sunday, securing a place in the gold-medal match for the second successive edition.
The defending champions posted 195/4 after choosing to bat first, powered by Shafali Verma's unbeaten maiden T20I century and a record-breaking contribution from Smriti Mandhana. Bangladesh never came close to mounting a challenge in the chase, collapsing for 81 in 14.3 overs.
India will face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match on Tuesday, while Bangladesh will meet Pakistan for bronze.
Shafali's century sets up India's charge
Shafali and Mandhana gave India the start they needed, racing to 72 in the Powerplay before Mandhana fell for 37.
Mandhana's innings carried
its own milestone. She became the highest run-scorer in women's T20Is, surpassing New Zealand's Suzie Bates, and also became the first Indian woman to reach 100 sixes in the format.
But the spotlight soon shifted entirely to Shafali.
The opener accelerated after Mandhana's departure, reaching her half-century in 27 balls and then tearing into the Bangladesh attack in the closing overs. She struck nine sixes and three fours in an unbeaten 100 from 49 balls, becoming the first woman to score a century at the Asian Games.
Her century also matched Harmanpreet Kaur's record for the fastest T20I hundred by an Indian woman, while taking Shafali past Mandhana as India's leading six-hitter in the format.
Harmanpreet provided the support at the other end with a 33-ball 40, adding 94 with Shafali before being stumped in the 19th over. Richa Ghosh fell soon after, but Shafali completed the landmark on the final ball of the innings to lift India to 195/4.
Bangladesh chase collapses under pressure
The target always required a strong start, but Bangladesh lost Juairiya Ferdous to Nandani Sharma with only eight runs on the board.
Kranti Gaud then removed Sobhana Mostary for four before Shree Charani accounted for captain Nigar Sultana for nine, leaving Bangladesh 39/3 after six overs.
Dilara Akter briefly offered resistance with a 23-ball 27, including four boundaries and a six, but Deepti Sharma ended her stay at the halfway mark.
From there, Bangladesh unravelled rapidly.
Shreyanka Patil dismissed Shorna Akter, while Nandani struck twice in the 11th over, removing Nahida Akter and Rabeya Khan in successive deliveries to reduce Bangladesh to 56/7.
Charani returned to remove Sharmin Akhter before Deepti completed the innings by dismissing Marufa Akter and Sanjida Akter Meghla in the 15th over.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 81, giving India their biggest win by runs in the tournament and completing a one-sided semifinal.
India set up another final against Sri Lanka
The result means India remain on course to defend their Asian Games title. They won gold at Hangzhou in 2023 and will now face Sri Lanka for another gold medal on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka reached the final earlier on Sunday after chasing down Pakistan's 177 with ease, led by captain Chamari Athapaththu's unbeaten 83 off 50 balls.
For India, however, the semifinal was about much more than simply reaching the final. Shafali's historic century, Mandhana's record and a ruthless bowling performance combined to underline the defending champions' control from start to finish.
