India opened their Women's Asia Cup campaign with a dominant 94-run victory over Thailand.
India opened their Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026 campaign with a dominant 94-run victory over Thailand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (August 30).
Invited to bat, India posted 159-9 in their 20 overs, with opener Shafali Verma (64 off 36) being the top-scorer. The Women in Blue suffered a collapse after a strong start as Thailand's bowlers kept pressure in the middle overs.
In reply, Thailand’s innings folded for just 65 runs in 16.1 overs. Deepti Sharma starred with the ball for India, claiming three wickets without conceding a run in her 1.1 overs.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur praised Thailand for their smart bowling and warned her team to stay focused and avoid taking any opponent for granted.
“It was a good start with the bat. Overall, it was a good game for us. The new ball was coming (on) nicely but after that there was a bit of hold," Harmanpreet said.
“We didn’t play good shots, but credit to Thailand for bowling in the areas where it wasn’t easy to hit. They bowled well and we also didn’t execute very well."
“All the teams playing in the Asia Cup have shown a lot of improvement, so we can’t take any team lightly," she added.
Harmanpreet acknowledged the match-winning contributions of Shafali and Deepti in the team’s Asia Cup opener.
“Both are key players for us. Shafali is someone who gets crucial runs and has a good rhythm, and Deepti is someone with a lot of experience and today she used that experience," she stated.
After receiving the Player-of-the-Match award, Shafali explained the tactical shift she made during her quickfire knock against Thailand.
“I was just trying to place the ball in the gaps and after the ball got old, there was a bit of hold so I was just trying to get used to that," Shafali said.
“At the start, the ball was coming (on) nicely to the bat but then there was a bit of hold, so I was just trying to play it late and hit it in the gaps."
Despite the loss, Thailand’s stand-in captain Thipatcha Putthawong highlighted the second half of India's innings as a massive positive for her bowling unit.
She noted that playing elite teams provides vital experience that they do not regularly get while also promising that Thailand will come back harder in future games.
“Proud of how we performed overall. It was a good opportunity to play against a big team, something we don’t get often. Next time, we’ll come back harder. Felt that the second half of the (first) innings with the ball was very good," she remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)