Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026: Radha Yadav shines with bat and ball as India A march into final

Match Overview

India A Women and Sri Lanka A Women clashed against each other in the first semi-final of the Women's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 at the Terdthai Cricket Ground in Bangkok on Friday, February 20. Sri Lankan captain Anushka Sanjeewani won the toss and elected to bat first.

The Lankan openers - Sanjana Kavindi and Hansima Karunaratne - gave their team a good start, scoring 36 runs in the first four overs. But, Tanuja Kanwar struck immediately after to dismiss the latter. The Lankans lost their captain soon after, too, as India restricted the opposition to 47/2 in the powerplay. Kavindi and Sathya Sandeepani consolidated subsequently as the duo scored at six runs per over until the former succumbed to Prema Rawat. 

Sandeepani was the next to go not long after as Sri Lanka found themselves at 80/4 in the 13th over, losing a bit of momentum. Shashini Gimhani was the only batter who could get into double figures later on as the Lankans lost wickets in a heap after the 15th over to end their innings at a below-par 118. Radha accelerated the downfall of the Lankan batting line-up as the left-arm spinner scalped four wickets.

Just like Sri Lanka, India too began their innings at a brisk pace. However, the opening stand was also clipped after the fourth over with Nandini Kashyap falling to Yasanthi Nimanthika. That brought Dinesh Vrinda and Anushka Sharma together again and the batters mostly dealt in fours. Notably, India hit 11 fours in the powerplay and ended it at 54/1.

The partnership kept on flourishing until a run out sent back Vrinda. The Lankans made a mini-comeback with a couple of wickets but that did not fluster India as their captain held one end up to score a brisk 31* and lead the team to a five-wicket victory in the 14th over itself. As a matter of fact, India A Women will play either Pakistan A Women or Bangladesh Women in the final on Sunday.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Radha Yadav

The Indian captain led by example and produced an all-round performance. After the other spinners sent back half of the Lankan batters for 100 runs in the 16th over, Radha dismantled the rest of the batting line-up which allowed India to bowl the opposition out for a paltry 118 only.

When the 25-year-old came out to bat at number five after the fall of Anushka, India needed a stable hand to not allow Sri Lanka to make further inroads. Radha not only ensured that but also counterattacked to score a quickfire unbeaten 31 off 18 balls and took India home with overs to spare.

Turning Point

One of the two important moments of the game also includes Radha. The left-arm spinner's spell ensured that Sri Lanka could not score more than 130 which they definitely looked like. Instead, they could only accumulate 18 runs off the last 27 balls, losing five wickets which gave India a lot of breathing space.

In the second innings, the 48-run stand off 24 balls between Vrinda and Anushka helped India go miles ahead in the chase, thus making it very difficult for the Lankans to make a significant comeback.