Deepti Sharma and Chamari Athapaththu carry the spin duel into the Women's Asia Cup final

India and Sri Lanka meet in Dubai for the Women's Asia Cup title with the tournament's joint-leading wicket-takers, both spinners, standing on opposite sides

The Women's Asia Cup 2026 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday brings together the only two sides to have come through the tournament unbeaten, and it puts Deepti Sharma and Chamari Athapaththu on opposing sides of a contest both attacks have been built around.

Each has taken 11 wickets, more than any other bowler in the competition, and each has taken them with spin on surfaces that have held scoring down for a fortnight in the UAE.

India are chasing an eighth Asia Cup title and a first since 2022. Sri Lanka, who beat them in the 2024 final, are defending the trophy for the first time in their history.

Deepti leads the wicket count again

Deepti's 11 wickets have cost 3.63 each, a return built on four tight spells rather than one outlier: 3-0 against Thailand, 3-9 against Hong Kong, China, 2-5 against Pakistan and 3-26 against Bangladesh in the semi-final.

She is also the Asia Cup's all-time leading wicket-taker, with 37 across the tournament's history, and she has batted where India have needed her.

Her view of the opposition has not changed with the draw. "This team doesn't take any team lightly. Doesn't matter, like maybe Sri Lanka, Pakistan, whoever comes in the final," Deepti said after the win over Bangladesh, adding that India would watch the second semi-final together before settling on their plans.

Athapaththu's seven-for set the tone

Athapaththu's tally is the more unusual one, because a batter who captains Sri Lanka has taken it with off-breaks. Her 7 for 5 in 3.3 overs against Indonesia on 2 September included a hat-trick to end the innings, the first by a Sri Lankan woman in a T20I.

Those remain the best figures by a Sri Lanka bowler in women's T20 internationals, and they came in a match her side had to rescue after posting 124 for 7.

Her batting has been the quieter half of her tournament, leaving Sri Lanka's runs to be shared among players with far less international cricket behind them.

How the finalists got here

India reached the final with a 40-run win over Bangladesh, posting 149 for 6 on the back of Shafali Verma's 64 from 40 balls before bowling Bangladesh out for 109.

Sri Lanka's route was tighter. They held Pakistan to 130 for 5 and then reached 134 for 6 with eight balls remaining, Harshitha Samarawickrama making 36 from 31 and adding 67 with Kavisha Dilhari to settle a chase that had wobbled early.

"The way Harshitha and Kavisha batted, it's amazing. They absorbed the pressure, they took singles and played really good," Athapaththu said afterwards. "Under pressure, that partnership was match-winning."

A rematch of the 2024 final

Sri Lanka's eight-wicket win in the last final remains the outlier in a fixture India have dominated. India have won 25 of the 31 T20 internationals between the sides, Sri Lanka five, with one no result.

Nine of the last 10 have gone India's way, including a 5-0 sweep in Thiruvananthapuram in December 2025.

That record has not moved Athapaththu off her position. "If we can execute our plans in the final, I think we can beat any team," she said.

Where the runs have to come from

India's top order has carried the tournament, Shafali leading the run charts with 168 and Smriti Mandhana on 154, both scoring at a rate the slow pitches have denied almost everyone else.

Sri Lanka's leading scorer is Samarawickrama on 89, a gap that explains why Athapaththu keeps returning to the players who finish innings rather than those who start them.

"We have good finishers like Harshitha, Nilakshika, Kavisha," she said. "Most of the players are playing really good, even the bowling unit."

India's spinners have taken 26 wickets between them, the most by any side in the competition, which leaves a final in which both teams intend to win the same way.

The final begins at 8pm IST in Dubai, with India seeking an eighth title and Sri Lanka a second in succession.

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