Unbeaten India face Bangladesh in Dubai for a place in the Women's Asia Cup final

Unbeaten India begin the Women's Asia Cup knockouts against a Bangladesh side that has bowled its way into the last four

India meet Bangladesh in the first semi-final of the Women's Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, with the winner going through to Sunday's final. Play begins at 8pm IST.

Harmanpreet Kaur's side topped Group A with three wins from three, beating Thailand by 94 runs, Hong Kong by 137 runs and Pakistan by seven wickets. Bangladesh came through second in Group B and were the last of the four teams to qualify.

India have won 21 of the 24 Twenty20 internationals between the sides. Bangladesh's answer is that their only Asia Cup title, in 2018, was built on beating India twice.

Mandhana sets the tone at the top

Smriti Mandhana has been the batter of the tournament. Her 124 from 64 balls against Hong Kong was the highest individual score in the competition's history, passing Chamari Athapaththu's unbeaten 119 from 2024.

It was also her 18th hundred in international cricket, taking her clear of Meg Lanning's 17 as the most by any woman in the game.

She is now within 69 runs of becoming the leading run-scorer in women's T20 internationals, a mark she could pass in Dubai.

Shafali Verma has given India starts of her own, her 64 from 36 balls against Thailand setting up the opening win.

A middle order that has not settled

India's one visible weakness is the same one that undid them at this year's T20 World Cup. Against Thailand they were 101 for 2 at the halfway stage and then lost eight wickets for 46, finishing on 159 for 9.

Legspinner Suleeporn Laomi took 3 for 26 in that collapse. India's bowlers made the total look comfortable, dismissing Thailand for 65 in 16.1 overs, but the batting order has not yet been tested by a side defending a competitive score.

Bangladesh's route through Group B

Bangladesh opened with a 71-run win over Indonesia, lost to defending champions Sri Lanka by four wickets, and needed the last group match to go their way.

It did. Against the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday they recovered from 55 for 6 to 103 for 7, Sharmin Akhter top-scoring with 38, then bowled the hosts out to 69 for 9 for a 34-run win and the final semi-final place.

Marufa Akter has been the constant, taking wickets with the new ball in each of Bangladesh's group matches.

Spin sets the terms in Dubai

The surface has rewarded slow bowling all tournament, and India have exploited it better than anyone: their spinners have 21 wickets, more than any other side's.

Shree Charani was the pick against Pakistan with 3 for 7, with Prema Rawat also taking three in a match India finished inside nine overs.

Runs have been hard to come by throughout. A total of 160 has been passed only once in the tournament, and sides batting first have won eight of the 12 completed matches.

Conditions will not ease the batting either. The temperature in Dubai is expected to stay above 35 degrees Celsius through the 6.30pm local start.

Bangladesh look back to 2018

Nigar Sultana's side are not treating the gap in the head-to-head record as settled. "If we don't even believe that we can beat India, then we shouldn't even dream of becoming Asia Cup champions," Sharmin Akhter told Cricbuzz.

She pointed to the 2018 tournament, when Bangladesh beat India in the group stage and again in the final. "The same principle applies to us now: nothing is impossible," she said.

Her assessment of the contest was blunt enough. "They are a formidable team whose primary strength lies in their batting, whereas our primary strength is our bowling," she said. "If we can back up our bowling with an improved batting performance and play well on that particular day, I genuinely believe we can beat India."

The winner will meet Pakistan or Sri Lanka, who contest the second semi-final on Friday, in the final in Dubai on Sunday.

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