India women began their Asian Games 2026 gold-medal defence in dominant fashion, defeating hosts Japan by eight wickets in the fourth quarterfinal at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Friday.
India lost G Kamalini for a duck and Bharti Fulmali for six, but Shafali continued attacking from the outset. India will face Bangladesh on Sunday. The first semifinal will see Pakistan take on Sri Lanka earlier on Sunday.
She struck four boundaries in the opening over before adding more boundaries and a six to finish the chase. With the victory, defending champions India advanced to the second semifinal of the women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games. Bangladesh progressed after their quarterfinal against China was washed out, with their higher ranking sending them through to the semifinals.
India’s chase was headlined by Shafali Verma, who smashed an unbeaten 40 off just 15 balls. Richa Ghosh provided the finishing touches with a quick 12 off six balls, including two fours. India reached 58/2 in just five overs to seal an eight-wicket victory. The eight-wicket win came with 90 balls remaining, putting India fourth on the list of most balls remaining in a Women’s T20I victory among Full Member teams. Most balls remaining in Women’s T20Is for Full Member teams: 108 balls – Zimbabwe Women vs Eswatini Women, Gaborone, 2021 104 balls – Ireland Women vs France Women, La Manga, 2021 98 balls – Zimbabwe Women vs Nigeria Women, Harare, 2019 90 balls – India Women vs Japan Women, Nisshin, 2026 87 balls – England Women vs West Indies Women, Bridgetown, 2022 For India Women, the 90-ball victory is their biggest win by this margin in T20Is. Their previous best was an 84-ball win against Thailand in Sylhet in 2022.
The victory also saw India register their biggest win in Women’s T20Is in terms of balls remaining for a Full Member team. Shafali Verma also contributed with the ball, picking up two wickets, while Deepti Sharma and returning pacer Shreyanka Patil claimed one wicket each. Chasing just 58 after bowling Japan out for 57, India completed the chase in only five overs. No.1 ranked T20I bowler Sree Charani continued her impressive run with another four-wicket haul. The left-arm spinner returned figures of 4/10 from her four overs to help India dismiss Japan for 57. Charani had also taken 4/20 in India’s victorious Asian Games 2026 final against Sri Lanka, making this her second consecutive four-wicket haul. Japan managed 24/0 during the powerplay, but India’s bowlers took control after the first six overs. Ayaka Kato-Stafford top-scored for Japan with 25 off 47 balls. Japan eventually slipped to 53/7 before being bowled out for 57 in 19 overs.
