The second semi-final of the Women's Asia Cup 2026 went almost the distance before Sri Lanka got over the line. Chasing Pakistan's 130 for 5 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, defending champions Sri Lanka reached 134 for 6 with four wickets in hand, completing the win that sets up a final against India, who booked their spot a day earlier with a 40-run win over Bangladesh.
Fatima Sana was named player of the match despite finishing on the losing side — a rare honour that says everything about how close this semi-final was. She top-scored for Pakistan with 47 off 36 balls in the first innings, then came back with the ball to take 4 for 38, repeatedly threatening to drag the match away from Sri Lanka even as the required run rate stayed manageable for the chasing side.
Sri Lanka's chase was built around a 67-run partnership off 59 balls between Harshitha Samarawickrama (36 off 31) and Kavisha Dilhari (33 off 33), which absorbed the pressure created by Fatima Sana's spell and left the finish in the hands of Nilakshika Silva, unbeaten on 18, and Kaushini Nuthyangana, not out on 10, to see Sri Lanka home with wickets to spare.
India will play in their sixth straight Women's Asia Cup final, and this time the opponent is the tournament's defending champion. Sri Lanka arrive unbeaten across the entire competition — group stage and semi-final included — while Harmanpreet Kaur's India have been similarly untroubled through their own run to the final. The match is scheduled for Sunday, September 13, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, with a scheduled start of 8:00 PM IST (6:30 PM local time).
India go into the final with a commanding head-to-head record against Sri Lanka in T20Is, having won 25 of their last 30 meetings, including their last four in a row. That record, combined with the semi-final form of Shafali Verma — whose 64 off 40 balls sealed India's win over Bangladesh — makes India the favourites on paper. But Sri Lanka didn't get to a second successive final by accident: they are the reigning champions for a reason, and a side built around Samarawickrama and Dilhari's composure under pressure has already shown it can navigate a tight finish once this tournament.
What makes this final compelling is the contrast in how each side has arrived. India have looked the more dominant team through the group stage and semi-final, rarely needing to be tested. Sri Lanka, by contrast, have had to grind through closer matches — this semi-final chief among them — and arrive battle-hardened rather than untroubled. Whether that difference in path matters more than India's head-to-head advantage is exactly the kind of question a final is supposed to answer.
Live coverage of the September 13 final is available on SportGod's live matches page, with more tournament coverage on SportGod's blog and fantasy contests running in SportGod's free games.
Semi-final scores, player performances and final fixture details are verified against same-day tournament reporting, current as of September 12, 2026.
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