Shafali Verma tops the Asia Cup run charts as India's top order faces a slow Dubai final

Shafali Verma goes into Sunday's Women's Asia Cup final in Dubai as the tournament's leading run-scorer, with India's bid for an eighth title resting on a top order that has not been beaten yet

India and Sri Lanka meet at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday evening, both unbeaten through the competition and both arriving from semi-finals won in very different ways.

Shafali has made 168 runs in four innings, including two fifties, more than any other batter at the tournament. Smriti Mandhana is next on 154, and between them the two openers account for the bulk of India's scoring.

Harmanpreet Kaur has framed the final as a question of who takes charge on the day. "We know we have such a good batting line-up, and I think when you have such a good batting line-up, it is only about whoever is doing well on that day," the India captain said. "That person should take responsibility and finish the game for the team. I think that is the key on this pitch."

Shafali Verma at the top of the order

Her 64 from 40 balls set up the semi-final against Bangladesh, an innings that gave India something to defend on a surface where scoring has been difficult all fortnight.

India finished on 149 for 6 and bowled Bangladesh out for 109 to win by 40 runs, with Deepti Sharma taking 3-26.

Shafali's has been the most consistent tournament of any batter on either side, and Sri Lanka's plans for the final are likely to begin with removing her inside the powerplay.

Mandhana's century and the gaps around it

Mandhana's 154 runs include 124 against Hong Kong, the only hundred of the tournament, but she has also been dismissed in single figures twice.

That pattern of one very large score and two early exits is part of why India's batting has looked heavier on paper than it has in the middle.

Richa Ghosh and Harmanpreet supplied the late hitting that carried India past 140 against Bangladesh, and Pratika Rawal has had to bat through awkward middle overs more than once.

A pitch that has not been easy

Totals in Dubai have stayed modest and the ball has gripped for the slower bowlers, which is why 149 proved comfortably enough in the first semi-final.

Harmanpreet's call for one batter to finish the job was made about this surface in particular, rather than as a general statement of intent.

Sri Lanka are built the same way, around spinners who can squeeze the middle overs and force the batting side to take a risk to get away.

Sri Lanka defending the title

Chamari Athapaththu has 11 wickets at 5.36, level at the top of the bowling list with Deepti Sharma, who has 11 at 3.63.

Her side recovered from 33 for 4 to beat Pakistan by four wickets in the second semi-final, Harshitha Samarawickrama making 36 and Kavisha Dilhari 33.

"If we can execute our plans in the final, I think we can beat any team," Athapaththu said.

The 2024 final still counts

Sri Lanka took the last Asia Cup by beating India by eight wickets in the 2024 final, the first title they have won in the competition.

India have won seven, in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2022, and have not held the trophy since.

"I think the last time we played against Sri Lanka, they came up with some really solid plans and performances," Harmanpreet said. "Winning in T20 cricket is all about who plays better cricket on the day."

The final begins at 8:00 PM IST at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

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