Photo via Hindustan Times

Harmanpreet Kaur’s bunch looks to make another Asian Games final with a win over Bangladesh

Reigning champions India are set to face Bangladesh in the women's cricket semifinals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nisshin, targeting a spot in the final to guarantee another gold-medal opportunity. Harmanpreet Kaur's squad cruised through their quarterfinal fixture at Kargogi Athletic Park, dismissing Japan for just 57 runs before Shafali Verma struck an unbeaten 40 off 15 deliveries to wrap up an eight-wicket rout with 90 balls unbowed.

Spinners remain central to India's push, highlighted by Shree Charani's 4 for 10 against Japan following her 12-scalp tally in the recent Asia Cup, where fellow slow bowler Deepti Sharma led the tournament with 14 dismissals. Top-order batter Smriti Mandhana also arrives in solid touch after hitting 59 from 39 balls in that Asia Cup final triumph.

Bangladesh progressed to the final four after rain completely washed out their scheduled quarterfinal clash with China. India holds a lopsided 22-3 edge across 25 Twenty20 International meetings between the sides, though Bangladesh defeated them twice during the 2018 Asia Cup en route to lifting the title and last prevailed against India in 2023.