India’s record-breaking performance against Bangladesh in the Asian Games 2026 women’s cricket semifinal on September 20, with Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma leading the news. Mandhana set a new world record in women’s T20I cricket while Shafali struck her first T20I century and India stormed to a gold medal match.
Smriti Mandhana becomes the leading T20I run-scorer
Smriti Mandhana reached a major career milestone during India’s explosive start. The left-handed opener overtook New Zealand’s Suzie Bates to become the highest run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket.
Mandhana needed seven runs to break Bates’s previous record of 4,758 runs. She achieved it in the third over by hitting consecutive boundaries against Bangladesh pacer Marufa Akter.
Mandhana eventually made 37 runs from 19 balls with five fours and two sixes. Her contribution helped India make a fast start and gave Shafali the platform to attack later in the innings.
Shafali Verma Smashes Maiden T20I Century
While Mandhana made history, Shafali Verma made the biggest batting performance of the match.
The opener remained unbeaten on 100 from 49 deliveries, making her the first woman to score a century in the Asian Games cricket competition. There were three fours and nine sixes in her innings.
Shafali's century was also her first T20I hundred for India. She got to three figures with the last ball of India’s innings which completed one of the best knocks of her international career.
India Post 195 Against Bangladesh
India finished their 20 overs at 195/4, with Shafali’s innings of 100 to set up the score. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also contributed 40 runs and Mandhana’s aggressive opening partnership helped India establish early momentum.
Bangladesh struggled to keep pace with India's scoring rate and were bowled out for 81 in 15.4 overs.
So India took a 114-run victory and secured their place in the Asian Games women's cricket final.
India set up Gold-Medal Clash.
The win means India will meet Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match on September 22. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan in the other semifinal to reach the final.
The semifinal against Bangladesh will be remembered for two separate milestones: Mandhana becoming the leading run-scorer in women's T20Is and Shafali recording her first T20I century.
Both openers were making history on the same day and India went into the final with a lot of momentum and another chance to win an Asian Games gold.
Source verification: The match details and records are independently reported by AFP, NDTV, Olympics.com and other major sports outlets.
