India beat Pakistan by seven wickets after eliminating their arch-rivals to record their lowest ever score in T20I cricket. Women’s Asian Cup 2026 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Pakistan, who opted to bat first, were all out for just 55 in 18.1 overs, falling below their previous T20I low of 56, also recorded fortuitously in Dubai against New Zealand two years ago.
Indian women’s cricket team made light work of the modest target despite the loss of three wickets, reaching 57/3 in 8.4 overs and sealing a comprehensive victory with 68 balls to spare.
India have now won all three Group A matches, having previously beaten Thailand and Hong Kong (China), to enter the semi-finals as group leaders with six points.
Meanwhile, Pakistan can still reach the semi-finals with victories over Hong Kong and China in the final group match on Monday.
The victory took India’s team record in T20I matches against Pakistan to 15 wins from 18 meetings.
The match was also a milestone for Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who became the first player to captain a team in 150 T20 International matches.
Harmanpreet marked the milestone by completing the chase herself by hitting Nashra Sandhu for a four and a six in succession.
Earlier, Pakistan made a fairly strong start through Muneeba Ali and Shawaal Zulfiqar, reaching 23 without loss after four overs. However, the introduction of spin completely changed the nature of the competition.
Shafali Verma made the first breakthrough, hitting Muneeb for 13 before Shri Charani tore Pakistan’s top order apart.
The left-arm spinner removed Galla Feroza for a duck and then dismissed Zulfiqar for 14 in four deliveries. She struck again in the next over, removing Aisha Zafar for two as Pakistan fell to 32/4.
Pakistan’s collapse continued with Prema Rawat removing Sadaf Shamas before Deepti Sharma caught captain Fatima Sana lbw for a duck. From 27/1, Pakistan fell to 35/6 in 10 overs.
There was little resistance from the lower classes as Indian spinners continued to dominate. Rawat finished with 3/9 in four overs while Charani posted outstanding figures of 3/7 in four overs. Deepti took 2/5 and Shafali 1/10 as Pakistan were dismissed in the 19th over.
Chasing 56, Shafali immediately set the tone with the first ball of India’s six innings. She scored 12 off six balls before Fatima Sana dismissed her in the second over.
During her innings, Shafali became the youngest woman to score 3000 runs in T20I cricket, reaching the milestone at the age of 22 years and 220 days.
Fatima Sana briefly gave Pakistan something to cheer about as she also removed Pratika Rawal for four and Smriti Mandhana for nine to leave India on 29/3 after four overs. The Pakistan captain finished with all three Indian wickets on his return on 17 March.
However, as the speed required was never a concern, Harmanpreet and Deepti calmly guided India towards the target.
Harmanpreet then provided an emphatic finish, scoring four before starting the next delivery over long for six to wrap up the seven-wicket win in style.
PAK-V – IND-V, Women’s Asian Cup 2026, brief results: Pakistan 55/10 in 18.1 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 14; Sri Charani 3/7, Prema Rawat 3/9) lost to India 57/3 in 8.4 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 18 not out; Fatima Sana 3/17) by seven wickets.