Shafali Verma (file photo, 2020), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Shafali Verma scored 100 not out off 49 balls in India’s Asian Games semifinal win over Bangladesh, her maiden T20 international hundred.
The innings included nine sixes and helped India reach 195 for 4.
Harmanpreet Kaur added 40 and Smriti Mandhana 37.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 81, giving India a 114-run win.
Reports described Shafali as the first woman to score a century at the Asian Games.
It was Shafali’s maiden T20 international century, and reports described her as the first woman to score a hundred at the Asian Games.
Harmanpreet Kaur scored 40 and Smriti Mandhana added 37 in India’s total of 195 for 4.
Deepti Sharma and Nandani Sharma took three wickets each as Bangladesh collapsed to 81.
The 114-run margin was India’s emphatic answer to a Bangladesh side that had reached the semifinal without playing a completed quarterfinal.
India will meet Sri Lanka in the gold medal match on Tuesday, September 22, while Bangladesh will play Pakistan for bronze.
The win guarantees India at least a silver medal at the Asian Games.
India, the defending champions, won gold in women’s cricket at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Earlier in the tournament, India beat Japan by eight wickets in the quarterfinal after bowling them out for 57.
In the quarterfinal, Shafali had hit 40 off 15 balls as India chased 58 in five overs.
The two sides had also met in the Women’s Asia Cup semifinal earlier in September, which India won by 40 runs.
The semifinal was played on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 10:30 am IST.
India’s Asian Games squad features Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh among its senior players.
Sree Charani was India’s leading bowler in the quarterfinal against Japan, taking four wickets.
The win sets up a chance for India to play for gold at a second Asian Games in a row.
Shafali Verma (file photo, 2020), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
