Dubai: India opened their Women’s Asia Cup 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, registering a thumping 94-run victory over Thailand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, with Shafali Verma’s 19th T20I half-century setting up the win before the bowlers dismantled the Thai batting line-up. In pursuit of 160 to win the match, Thailand were all out for only 65 in 16.1 over, with wicket-keeper batter Nannapat Koncharoenkai, being the only player to offer any real resistance by scoring 41 off 48 balls.
Earlier, Verma Shafali’s overwhelmed the Thai reply by scoring 64 runs off 36 balls, consisting of eight powerful fours and three sixes, thus marking her 19th T20I half-century and securing India a firm lead. India were at 91/1 after 8.5 overs and seemed on the verge of making a large total, but a sudden collapse altered the course of the innings.
Brief scores: India-W 159/9 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 64, Pratika Rawal 22; Suleeporn Laomi 3-26, Sunida Chaturongrattan 2-31) beat Thailand-W 65 all out in 16.1 overs (Nannapat Koncharoenkai 41; Deepti Sharma 3-1, Nanadani Sharma 3-18) by 94 runs.
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