India and Sri Lanka have booked their places in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final, setting up what could be a fascinating battle between two strong spin-bowling attacks.
India’s spin department, led by Deepti Sharma, has taken 26 wickets throughout the tournament — the most by any team. Sri Lanka are close behind with 25 wickets, highlighting just how important spin could be in the final.
India have also looked strong across all departments, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma among their leading run-scorers.
For Sri Lanka, batting has been a major challenge on the slow Dubai pitches. During the semi-final against Pakistan, Sri Lanka were reduced to 33 for 4 before Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari steadied the innings and guided the team to victory.
A similar situation occurred against Bangladesh, when Sri Lanka slipped to 44 for 5 before Harshitha produced another composed innings to help secure their place in the knockout stage. Earlier, against Indonesia, Nilakshika Silva rescued Sri Lanka after they were reduced to 45 for 5.
Sri Lanka’s batting, however, remains a concern. Chamari Athapaththu has scored only 63 runs in four innings, while Imesha Dulani has contributed 64 runs in four innings. With India also possessing a strong bowling attack, Sri Lanka’s top order will need to provide greater stability in the final.
India have dominated the recent T20 record between the two sides. They won all five T20Is during their 2025 series in India and have won nine of the teams’ last 10 T20 encounters.
However, Sri Lanka’s only victory in that run came in perhaps the most important match of all — the 2024 Women’s Asia Cup final in Dambulla, where Sri Lanka chased down India’s target of 166 with just two wickets down to lift the trophy.
That victory gives Sri Lanka both a challenge and a reason for confidence heading into the final.
To defend their title, Sri Lanka will need to handle India’s pace threat and their formidable spin trio of Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and Prema Rawat. Their top-order batters will also have to build solid partnerships rather than leaving the responsibility solely to the middle order.
India appear to have the more balanced side on paper, but Sri Lanka know better than most that anything can happen in a final.
Interestingly, both teams have remained unbeaten throughout this year’s Asia Cup campaign, making the final an even more intriguing contest between the two sides.
