Asia Cup Women's final: India face Sri Lanka for eighth title

The final of the Women's Asia Cup 2026 will be played today between India and Sri Lanka. Notably, neither team has lost a single match in the entire tournament so far. Team India finished on top of Group A, while Sri Lanka topped Group B.

The Indian team has performed superbly with both bat and ball, though this time the bowlers have shone in particular. The side, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, will take the field today aiming to win the final and avenge their loss in the previous Asia Cup.

The responsibility of starting the innings will rest on Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. Both openers are currently in good form. Shafali has scored two half-centuries in the tournament, while Mandhana hit a century against Hong Kong. A good opening partnership is expected from the two. However, the middle order has not delivered similarly so far, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur herself has not yet played a big innings. As a result, Pratika Rawal, Richa Ghosh and Bharti Fulmali will need to come up with substantial contributions.

Deepti Sharma's all-round performance has been key to India's run to the final. In every match, Deepti has taken wickets with her lethal bowling and also contributed with the bat. She has 11 wickets to her name so far. In the semifinal against Bangladesh, she scored 13 runs off just 6 balls, helping India cross 150 runs. Deepti has been well supported by Sree Charani and Priya Mishra Rawat, the two spinners who have also shown excellent bowling. In this way, all three spinners have dominated throughout the tournament.

In the group stage, India defeated Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan one-sidedly, dominating all three matches. The team reached the final after beating Bangladesh in the semifinal. Notably, India have fielded the same playing eleven throughout the tournament, so no changes are expected for the final either. Harmanpreet Kaur will look to win the title with the same eleven players.

India's likely playing eleven is: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Priya Mishra Rawat, Kranti Goud, Sree Charani and Nandini Sharma.