India will take on Bangladesh in the first semifinal of the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Thursday.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team will be looking to reclaim the trophy it conceded to Sri Lanka at the previous edition of the tournament in 2024.

The side has been dominant through the group stages, winning all three contests and earning a positive Net Run Rate of 5.471.

Bangladesh finished second behind Sri Lanka in Group B and needed its bowling attack to bail it out of danger against UAE in its final game.

The wicket-taker’s charts at the continental event has been dominated by the slower bowlers. Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu leads the way with nine scalps in three innings, including a seven-fer against Indonesia. India’s Deepti Sharma follows with eight scalps.

Among the 174 wickets to have fallen during the tournament, spinners have picked 125 — a share of 71.84 per cent. The average for tweakers (11.20) has been significantly better than their pace counterparts (16.14). The same goes for the economy rates (4.73 to 5.71).

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Therefore, India will have an advantage over its neighbour ahead of the final-four encounter. India’s spin trio of Deepti, Shree Charani and Prema Rawat, along with part-time option Shafali, have picked 21 out of 27 wickets for the side.

Meanwhile, pacer Marufa Akter is the highest wicket-taker for the Nigar Sultana Joty’s side with seven.

The Indian spinners’ average of 4.38 is significantly better than that of Bangladesh (12.15). The economy rate of 2.81 is also lower than that of its opponent (3.88).

With the conditions at the DICS expected to remain the same, Indian spinners are expected to ensure a smooth passage into the final for their team.

Published on Sep 10, 2026