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Tilak, Gaikwad and spinners fire India into Asian Games final
India’s spin attack restricted Bangladesh to 96 before Tilak Varma blazed away to a 25-ball half-century, supported ably by skipper Ruturai Gaikwad, as they thumped Bangladesh by nine wickets to seal a berth in the final of the men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games.
India’s run-chase got off to a wobbly start with Yashasvi Jaiswal being dismissed by Ripon Mondol for a duck in the first over. Gaikwad, though, took over the mantle almost instantly, hitting the last ball of that over for four. In the third over, the India captain took down Mondol, smashing two fours and two sixes en route a 21-run over.
Tilak came into his own thereafter and found the fence regularly. Mrittunjoy Chowdhury was the first to face his wrath, being pounded for consecutive sixes in the fourth over. Rakibul Hasan was then taken for a four and a six in the fifth over as India and Tilak flexed their muscles, ransacking 68 runs in the powerplay. Tilak hit two more sixes and got to his fifty off 25 balls – his second half-century in nine T20I innings.
Earlier in the day, India’s spinners ruled the roost after inviting Bangladesh to bat. They accounted for eight of the nine wickets that fell, ultimately keeping Bangladesh’s score down to 96.
Arshdeep Singh, India’s solitary front-line pacer, set the tone at the start, getting the ball to move both ways and inducing several false strokes. Parvez Hossain Emon did hit Shivam Dube for a six in the second over but Bangladesh could not follow that up with more boundaries in the powerplay.
India’s early pressure paid off in the fifth over. Mahmudul Hasan Joy tried to hoick R Sai Kishore over his head but only managed to shank it to mid-on. An over later, Washington Sudar, who bowled sparingly in India’s quarter-final victory, struck twice. Saif Hassan was the first to depart, spooning a catch to deep backward square, before Zakir Hasan nicked through to Jaiswal at slip.
Afif Hossain and Emon tried resurrecting the innings but found the going tough. A lack of strike rotation meant that the latter felt the urge to look for boundaries. He perished in that endeavour, with Tilak the beneficiary.
India kept chipping away and rarely allowed the Bangladesh batters freebies to break the shackles. Sai Kishore bagged a three-wicket haul, with Arshdeep, Tilak, Ravi Bishnoi and debutant Shahbaz Ahmed picking up a wicket apiece.
There were brief spurts of Bangladesh momentum, notably when Rakibul hit his first three balls for 14 runs but that was very much an aberration as India kept them down to 96.
Brief scores:
India 97 for 1 (Tilak Varma 55*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 40*) beat Bangladesh (Parvez Hossain Emon 23, Jaker Ali 24*, Sai Kishore 3-12, Washington Sudar 2-15) by nine wickets
(Cricinfo)
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Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara
Due to heavy rainfall received in the upper catchment areas of the Mahaweli River over the past few hours, there is a risk of minor flooding in the low-lying areas surrounding the Mahaweli River within the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara.Residents living in the above mentioned areas and motorists using roads passing through these areas are urged to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant regarding the prevailing situation.
Furthermore, residents living in close proximity to the Mahaweli River in these areas are advised to remain highly alert to the situation and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from any potential flooding.The relevant disaster management authorities are requested to take all necessary measures in response to this situation.
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide Red Alerts to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya effective from 14:00 hrs on 20.09.2026 To 14:00 hrs on 21.09.2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL III [RED] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy district, Dehiowita, Aranayake, Deraniyagala, Mawanella and Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Kothmale West, Kotmale East, Ambagamuwa and Norwood in the Nuwara Eliya district
LEVEL II [AMBER] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Padukka in the Colombo district, Nagoda, Thawalama and Neluwa in the Galle district, Bulathsinhala, Palindanuwara, Walallawita and Agalawatta in the Kalutara district, Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya and Kegalle in the Kegalle district, Akuressa and Pitabeddara in the Matara district, Thalawakele in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district.
LEVEL I [YELLOW] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka in the Colombo district, Niyagama and Baddegama in the Galle district, Mirigama in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya in the Kalutara district, Udapalatha and Yatinuwara in the Kandy district, Galigamuwa, Warakapola and Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district, Kotapola, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, and Eheliyagoda, Kalawana and Elapatha in the Ratnapura district.
A 49-ball unbeaten hundred from Shafali Verma and three-wicket hauls apiece for Nandani Sharma and Deeoti Sharma helped India march into the final of the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
Batting first in Nisshin against Bangladesh, India posted 195 for 4, with Shafali bringing up her maiden white-ball international hundred off the final ball of the innings. She pummelled nine sixes and three fours in an innings that left Bangladesh needing a record chase to reach the final.
Smriti Mandhana gave India a rapid start with a 19-ball 37, during which she became the leading run-scorer in women’s T20Is, while Harmanpreet Kaur found some form with a 33-ball 40 from No. 4.
India’s innings began with a 36-ball opening stand of 72, with Shafali setting the pace by smashing 34 off her first 17 deliveries, while Mandhana initially played second fiddle before gaining pace. G Kamalini, at No. 3, failed to make use of another opportunity, while Richa Ghosh made only two. Harmanpreet started sluggishly, as she has tended to in the recent past, but overcame those early struggles to land some lusty blows towards the end of the innings. She added 94 off 55 balls with Shafali for the third wicket.
Bangladesh never seriously threatened the target. Dilara Akter made 27 at the top of the order, but opening partner Juairiya Ferdous was dismissed for a duck and Bangladesh’s Nos. 3 to 5 were unable to get going. Sultana Khatun, batting at No. 9, was their second-highest scorer with just 12.
Nandani got the first wicket in the second over after which fellow new-ball bowler Kranti Gaud delivered a second blow in the third over. Shree Charani then sent Nigar Sultana back in the final over of the powerplay to leave Bangladesh at 38 for 3.
There was no way in as Bangladesh failed to get any partnership going and a double-wicket 11th over from Nandani exposed the tail. Deepti then trapped Marufa Akter lbw and had Sanjida Akter holing out in the 16th over to complete the resounding win.
India will now face Sri Lanka in the gold-medal match, a repeat of the final from 2023. Bangladesh will meet Pakistan for the bronze-medal fixture.
Scores:
India Women 195 for 4 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 37, Shafali Verma 100*, Harmanpreet Kaur 40: Marufa Akter 1-43, Sanjida Akter Meghla 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-35, Nahida Akter 1-45) beat Bangladesh Women 81 in 15.4 overs (Dilara Akter 27, Sharmin Akhter 10, Sultana Khatun 12*; Kranti Gaud 1-20, Nandani Sharma 3-25. Shree Charani 2-07, Shreyanka Patil 1-22, Deepti Sharma 3-07) by 114 runs
[Cricinfo]
Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara
Landslide Red Alerts issued to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya
Shafali dazzles with 49-ball unbeaten 100 and India march into Asian Games final
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