Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026: Khatun's all-round efforts take Bangladesh A into final

Match Overview

Bangladesh A Women and Pakistan A Women clashed against each other in the second semi-final of the Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok on Friday, February 20. Pakistan captain Hafsa Khalid won the toss and elected to field first.

The Bangladesh openers - Ishma Tanjim and Shamima Sultana - began the innings steadily, but right-arm pacer Waheeda Akhtar struck in the fourth over to end Sultana's stay at the crease. The batting team avoided any further loss in the powerplay as they ended the field-restriction period at 27/1. The deck appeared to be too sluggish as stroke-making was not easy, and so, the Bangladeshi batters could not up the scoring rate.

Lack of flow produced a couple of wickets around the halfway mark as Bangladesh found themselves at 44/3. Meanwhile, captain Fahima Khatun took the initiative and held one end up to take her team forward. The right-hander founded little support from the batters to come next though and managed to guide Bangladesh to what looked like an under-par 110/8.

Pakistan started very cautiously and the slowness of the surface did not help them either. Fariha Trisna and Sanjida Akter Meghla provided a double strike in the powerplay, dismissing opener Eman Naseer and number three Huraina Sajjad as Pakistan were pegged back further. Despite the strikes, they did not finish too far behind in the powerplay comparatively, scoring 21 runs.

With 90 runs needed off 84 balls, the game was not beyond Pakistan's reach. But, Bangladesh were determined to put it though. Khatun began the dismantling of the middle order as her two strikes and a run out imposed immense pressure on the lower order. Pakistan were tottering at 30/5 after nine overs and the game was slipping away from them.

Wicketkeeper-batter Yusra Amir and skipper Khalid tried to revive the run chase, but their contributions were not enough. Pakistan were eventually bowled out for a mere 56 as Bangladesh stormed into the final with a massive 54-run win.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Fahima Khatun

Khatun came in to bat at number four in the eighth over when the innings was heading towards the crucial middle overs. The right-hander kept busy and accumulated runs before accelerating in the death overs to take Bangladesh over the 100-run mark.

The skipper struck crucial blows as well with her leg spin as the 33-year-old sent back Omaima Sohail and Zulfiqar. That broke the back of the batting line-up and eased the job of the rest of the bowlers in achieving a big win.

Turning Point

Khatun's strike to remove opener Zulfiqar began the collapse. With three down for 24 runs in the seventh over, Pakistan were in deep trouble. The opener's wicket brought about a couple of more wickets soon which derailed the chase.