A full-strength India were never going to be challenged at the Women's Asia Cup, and their 72-run win against Sri Lanka to clinch their eighth title proved it. They were unbeaten throughout the eight-team tournament in Dubai. Here are some of the takeaways from their victorious campaign.
Shafali adds consistency to her flair
Shafali Verma made a chart-topping 236 runs, the second-most she has scored in a series or a tournament. Those runs came at a strike rate of 171.01, the best by any batter in the competition who scored at least 20 runs. All this in conditions where batters were challenged. In the past, Shafali has tended to throw her starts away after a tough phase in an innings. But at the Asia Cup, she showed she has learnt to handle those challenges and come out triumphant. Even captain Harmanpreet Kaur lauded her after the final, saying it was good to see her "taking responsibility". She scored three fifties, including in the semi-final and final. She couldn't get to her maiden T20I century, but a consistently belligerent Shafali emerging from the tournament is India's biggest positive. Add to it her regular contributions with the ball. India can finally claim to have at least one top-order batter who can contribute with the ball.
Nandani, Rawat show their mettle
Playing their first full tournaments, both Nandani Sharma and Prema Rawat churned out performances of note. Nandani, alongside Kranti Gaud, was instrumental in setting the tone with the ball in the powerplay. Her seven wickets in the tournament were the third-best by a fast bowler, behind Pakistan's Fatima Sana (9) and Bangladesh's Marufa Akter (8). Importantly, her economy rate (4.64) was much lower than the other two (6.14 and 5.06, respectively). She also was agile in the field and pulled off two diving catches in the final.
Rawat was impressive with the control she extracted with her legspin. Her ability to get the ball to drift in and turn away put the batters in trouble. She is not a massive turner of the ball, but her accuracy led to seven wickets, including three against Pakistan that broke the back of their innings. While Nandani and Rawat's showings inspire confidence, they must be viewed in the context of the chasm between India and the other teams at the Asia Cup. India's decision to play the same bowling attack throughout meant none of Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy and Radha Yadav got a look-in.
India's muddle in the middle
Throughout the tournament, India's middle order let them down. In their opening match against Thailand, India went from 91 for 1 to 137 for 9, a collapse of 8 for 46. Against Hong Kong, Smriti Mandhana's 124 came at a strike rate of 193.75, while the Nos. 3 to 7 scored 34 off 39 with only two fours. Against Sri Lanka in the final, India slipped from 129 for 0 in the 13th over to 167 for 5 in the 19th, a slide of 5 for 38. India's Nos. 3 to 7 had a cumulative average of 15.25, lower than Sri Lanka (17.94) and Bangladesh (15.88).
It didn't help that India were without Jemimah Rodrigues, who was sidelined by a hamstring injury. Her replacement, Pratika Rawal, had not played a T20 since November 2024. There was no doubting Rawal's batting skills, though. It was evident in her first shot, a silken cover drive that gave her a first boundary in T20Is. Or even in the nimble footwork to thump Rabeya Khan over deep midwicket in the semi-final against Bangladesh. But she could only tally 56 runs in four outings at a strike rate of 98.24. G Kamalini replaced her in the XI in the final and scored a five-ball 15 from No. 7.
That also brought the spotlight on India's middle-overs batting and finishing. On spin-friendly tracks, India's middle order found it tough to step up, which was evidenced by the drop in their scoring rate in overs 12-16. Even the seasoned Harmanpreet laboured to an unbeaten 24 off 28 in the semi-final and finished the Asia Cup with a strike rate of 91.02. That also raised questions about Bharti Fulmali's role in the team. Brought in as a finisher following her WPL success, Fulmali batted only two times in the Asia Cup after playing just one match at the T20 World Cup in June. Even when India lost a wicket in the 19th over in the semi-final and in the 17th in the final, Deepti Sharma was sent ahead of her.
India's catching woes continue
India dropped 14 catches at the Asia Cup. That included some tough ones, but it still is a huge number considering the next-best (or worst) was six by Thailand. India head coach Amol Muzumdar half-jokingly said that his coaching staff had "something to work on" following the Asia Cup win. But fielding woes have been a recurrent theme for India for quite some time now. India dropped five catches in the final alone; on another day, it could have proved to be costly.
