Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026: Hasabnis, spinners help India overcome Bangladesh's challenge to win title

Match Overview

India A Women and Bangladesh A Women clashed against each other in the final of the Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok on Sunday, February 22. Indian captain Radha Yadav won the toss and elected to bat first. 

Openers Dinesh Vrinda and Nandini Kashyap provided India with a brisk start, but Bangladesh struck back to stem the momentum around the six-over mark with three wickets. India were reeling at 33/3 in the seventh over but Bangladesh were not done for the time being as skipper Fahima Khatun sent back Anushka Sharma.

With 44/4 in the ninth over, India needed a stable, prospering stand and Tejal Hasabnis and Radha produced that. The duo came to the team's rescue with a 69-run partnership which brought the team to a respectable position. Khatun struck again to break the stand with Radha's wicket as Hasabnis and the lower order helped India to a competitive 134/7.

Bangladesh began their response in earnest. Despite a couple of wickets in the powerplay the team was not behind the eight-ball. At the nine-over mark though, the Women in Green were 46/2 and the pressure of the required run rate was starting to mount. Very soon, the Indian captain produced a wicket in the form of Sarmin Sultana and that opened the floodgates. Bangladesh lost a couple of wickets more soon as they found themselves at 63/5 in 13 overs.

The required rate climbed to over 10 runs per over and the growing pressure led to a heap of wickets. The result was now a foregone conclusion as India bowled out the opposition for 88 and won the final by a substantial margin of 46 runs.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Tejal Hasabnis

Hasabnis came out to bat at number five when India were rocked by a triple strike with 33 runs on the board. The right-hander formed a crucial partnership with Radha and the duo helped the team post a potentially winning total. Hasabnis played the anchor role and stayed at the crease till the end, scoring a match-winning unbeaten 51 off 34 balls. The 28-year-old accelerated at the right time and India would be thankful to her for her knock in the deciding game.

Turning Point

The fifth-wicket partnership of 69 runs between Radha and Hasabnis proved to be the pivotal moment in the game. The duo joined when India were 44/4 in the ninth over and a wicket or two soon would have put Bangladesh in the driver's seat. But, the pair showed character and brought India out of trouble. Not only that, by the time the stand was broken India were in a much better position, a point from where they could launch in the last three overs or so. And launch they did with Hasabnis leading the way.