India Women claimed their eighth Asia Cup title on Sunday by defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Indian
team posted 183 for 5 in their innings, then restricted Sri Lanka to 111 all out. However, the victory was overshadowed by an unusual trophy presentation ceremony that did not include the champions.
The match concluded close to 9:50pm local time, but the presentation ceremony did not begin until 10:40pm, a delay of nearly 50 minutes. The ceremony was abruptly ended after medals were presented to the runners-up, Sri Lanka, with no trophy or medals awarded to the Indian team. According to Cricinfo, the Indian squad arranged their own medal presentation for the best fielder during the event.
"That stand has been taken by BCCI and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over, we are the champions. That's good enough. It was on the big board that India are the champions of Asia Cup 2026. This tournament is officially over for us. We're happy that we're the champions and we look forward to the Asian Games," Muzumdar said as quoted by Cricinfo.
The trophy presentation incident follows a similar occurrence at the Men's Asia Cup final in 2025 at the same venue. The men's team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, refused to accept the winner's trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi. According to Yahoo Sports, the men's trophy from that tournament has not yet reached India and remains in Dubai.
Captain Harmanpreet's praise for the opening partnership
Harmanpreet reserved special praise for Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, who set the tone for India with a record 129-run opening partnership, with both batters scoring aggressive half-centuries.
"I think we played to our standards because that's what we discussed when we came here. We have certain standards, and we have to keep matching them every day. We are very happy with the way we all performed. And I think the girls have done fabulously well throughout the entire tournament, setting [a target of] 184 in a final. That's a big thing," said Harmanpreet.
"We all knew it's not that easy to bat [on Dubai's slow pitches], but I think our openers did an absolutely great job for us, the way they both batted, Smriti and Shafali. It's all about playing good cricket, and at the end of the day, I'm very happy overall," she concluded.
