India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
“Yeah, we are going to bat first today. I think today’s game is about playing good cricket, staying in the moment and giving your best. Pratika is resting today; Kamini is back. She has a lot of ability, and hopefully she’ll enjoy herself today.
This will be Kamalini’s as she got her first game of the tournament and only her second T20I for India. I feel it’s a very important game for us, and I think having a score on the board is always positive. “Every final is very important, and at the same time, there is a lot of pressure. We do have one change. We are not keeping a specific target in mind. It’s all about using the batting power-play and then see how much we can get,” she added. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have also made a change to their XI for the final with Vishmi Gunaratne coming in for Sanjana Kavindi. Last few games we have bowled really good. Actually, it’s a really good thing for me as well as the team. As a country, we need to improve our cricket all the time. So we have good players. We will stick with our plans and we’ll try to play positive cricket in the middle. “We are going with one change: Vishmi Gunaratne is playing in place of Sanjana Kavindi. I felt we needed some experience. (The) first six overs (are) very crucial. Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu(c), Imesha Dulani, Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Sugandika Kumari, Chamudi Praboda, Mithali Ayodhya India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh(w), Gunalan Kamalini, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma
Because we back our skills, “If we won the toss, definitely we would have bowl first,. India made a change to their XI for the first time this tournament after Kaur won her maiden toss in the 2026 Asia Cup as the Women in Blue brought in G Kamalini for Pratika Rawal. They have also won nine of their previous 10 T20Is against Sri Lanka, but their only defeat came in the 2024 Asia Cup final in Dambulla.
That is the reason we decided as a group that we’ll bat first,” India captain Kaur said at the toss. So if we can get early (wickets), I think (there will be) pressure on them,” Sri Lankan skipper Athapaththu said at the toss.
The Women in Blue have a very strong record against Sri Lanka and swept them in a five-match T20I series last year in December.
India and Sri Lanka are both undefeated in the ongoing tournament, with the Women in Blue having looked far more dominant than Sri Lanka. India have tamed every other opponent with superb all-round performance, while Sri Lanka have been found wanting in the batting department. Meanwhile, India have looked far more dominant in all the departments, with Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana doing the bulk of the scoring. India are looking for a record-extending eighth Asia Cup title after winning four continental tournaments in the ODI format and three in T20Is.
Their top-order batters have not been at the top of their game, including captain Chamari Athapaththu, who has only 63 runs from four innings. Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani have been highly penetrative with the ball, with 11 and eight wickets, respectively.
