Marufa, spinners step up to seal Bangladesh's semi-final spot
Sharmin Akhter earlier rescued Bangladesh from the depths of 55 for 6 to 103 for 7 before the bowlers kept UAE to 69
08/09Result
12th Match, Group B (N), Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup at Dubai, Sep 8 2026
Player of the Match
08/09Result
12th Match, Group B (N), Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup at Dubai, Sep 8 2026
Player of the Match
Match Centre
Statistics
Best performances - Batsmen
Sharmin Akhter
38(31) 3x4 - 0x6
Control %90%
- Productive Shot
- off drive
- 11 runs
- 2x4 - 0x6
Nigar Sultana
23(28) 3x4 - 0x6
Control %89%
- Productive Shot
- off drive
- 5 runs
- 1x4 - 0x6
Match Details
Toss
United Arab Emirates Women , elected to field first
Player Of The Match
Match number
Season
Hours of play (local time)
18.30 start, First Session 18.30-19.45, Interval 19.45-20.00, Second Session 20.00-21.15
Match days
8 September 2026 - night match (20-over match)
Umpires
TV Umpires
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
Points
Bangladesh Women 2, United Arab Emirates Women 0
Scorecard Summary
BANGLADESH WOMEN 103/7 (20 OVERS)
- Sharmin Akhter38 (31)
- Nigar Sultana23 (28)
- Suraksha Kotte3/11 (4)
- Indhuja Nandakumar2/21 (4)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES WOMEN 69/9 (20 OVERS)
- Heena Hotchandani18 (19)
- Theertha Satish11 (24)
- Rabeya Khan3/14 (4)
- Marufa Akter2/9 (4)
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: Abhimanyu Bose
END OF OVER:20 | 2 Runs | UAE-W: 69/9 (35 runs required, RR: 3.45)
- Mehul Kulkarni9 (12b)
- Archara Supriya2 (5b)
- Nahida Akter4-0-18-2
- Fahima Khatun4-0-16-1
9.57pm So, there we have it. The group stage of this Asia Cup is wrapped up. Bangladesh will take on India in the first one, while Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the second. And that's all from us today. On behalf of Srinidhi, Vairavan and everyone else at Cricinfo, it's Abhimanyu signing off. Bye and goodnight!
9.50pm Time for the presentation ceremony.
Nigar Sultana: "I think it was a very crucial game for both the teams and UAE bowled really well. they gave us a very good challenge. Sharmin batted really well in the middle and Nahida helped her out with the partnership and we got the 100-plus runs that we wanted. [On the surface] We expected a slow surface but it was really slow. They also bowled really slow. When the top order fell, we talked about it being a matter of one partnership and if we get 100-plus runs we'll be good. Marufa started the innings really well and everyone else also bowled well. [The celebrations] We were talking about not doing anything else because of the rules, so we won't say any word... [On playing India in the semis] They are a very strong side so we will look to play our A-game on that particular day. Result will come but we just want to execute our best."
The POTM, who now has the most of those awards for Bangladesh, Nahida Akter: "[The partnership with Sharmin] I knew my role. My coaches told me my role and I knew that Sharmin is there, so it's easy for me to bat. [Enough runs on the board?] We were 20 runs short but still we believe our batters can do better but we have good bowling strength."
Esha Oza: "I think the way we came out in the first innings, big shout out to the team. Against a big team in a must-win game, very proud of the girls. To bridge the gap between us and them, it's the batting that lacks within the associate teams, and they showed that. They built a partnership after the collapse. It's something we need to work on. It's been an amazing experience. First of all to play on this group, and then to get the support we got. Great to see so many people come out to support women's cricket. We have to go back to the drawing board. We learned a lot. Every Asia Cup we have gotten better as a bowling unit and in the field, but we have to improve our batting."
9.45pm UAE did well with the ball, but their batters could not back that up as Bangladesh's bowlers wreaked havoc after Sharmin Akhter and Nahida Akter rescued them from 55 for 6. With that, the 2018 Asia Cup champions are through to the semi-finals, with wins against UAE and Indonesia. They came back very well from their top-order collapse, and while they know there are things to work on with their batting, they got the job done today, and their bowlers will pose a strong threat to India.
19.6
0
Nahida Akter to Kulkarni, no run, A dropped chance, but it doesn't matter. Bangladesh win by 34 runs and they book their slot to face India in the semi-finals of the Asia Cup! Kulkarni looks to cut this length ball and gets an edge but the keeper can't hold on. However, it's a dot ball and that secures a 34-run win for Bangladesh after they were in threat of being caught out by UAE today at one point. Dominant bowling display!
19.5
0
Nahida Akter to Kulkarni, no run, Loopy and full around middle and off, Mehul skips out and drills it to extra cover
19.4
1
Nahida Akter to Archara Supriya, 1 run, On a length outside off, she looks to swing it away but can't hit it cleanly. Chips it to midwicket's left, nearly offering another chance
19.3
0
Nahida Akter to Archara Supriya, no run, Just short of the bowler! Full and flat outside off, squeezed back to her but it doesn't carry
19.2
0
Nahida Akter to Archara Supriya, no run, Hits this full ball back to Nahida, who nearly catches the non-striker out of her crease
19.1
1
Nahida Akter to Kulkarni, 1 run, Tossed up full and wide by Nahida, driven out to long-off
Match Coverage
All Match NewsMarufa, spinners step up to seal Bangladesh's semi-final spot
Sharmin Akhter earlier rescued Bangladesh from the depths of 55 for 6 to 103 for 7 before the bowlers kept UAE to 69
UAE bowl against Bangladesh in must-win game
UAE made one change while Bangladesh made two
