India clinch must-win clash by 5 wickets in Women’s WC:Continue dominance over Bangladesh in T20 contest; Shafali’s fifty, Radha Yadav’s 3-fer

In the must-win clash against Bangladesh in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Old Trafford, Manchester, India secured a win by 5 wickets. It was a clinical batting performance from Women in Blue that took them home after the poor fielding display that they had put on in the first innings. Bangladesh’s women’s team could have been bundled early in the game if the fielders had taken the chances cleanly. However, losing four catches in powerplay resulted in ‘The Tigresses’ posting 136/8 in 20 overs, giving a 137-run target. During the chase, it was Shafali Verma’s dominant performance with the willow, slamming a 29-ball fifty that laid the foundation for India women’s victory in the do-or-die clash. Then, after a quick couple of wickets in the middle, Jemimah’s brisk 26-run cameo, Harmanpreet and Deepti led India to victory. Radha Yadav compensates for dropped chances with wickets India, which lost to South Africa largely due to their poor fielding, dropped as many as four catches in the powerplay. All four chances were rather straightforward, but the fielders made a mess of them. Among the guilty were Nandni Sharma, Yastika Bhatia and Radha Yadav, who had missed two chances in the loss to South Africa in the previous game. Juairiya Ferdous got the most chances, who was dropped thrice by the fifth over. She did make some hits but failed to convert the lifelines that she got. After being warned twice for running on the pitch, Nandni, who had dropped Ferdous and Sobhana Mostary on consecutive balls, took a sharp return catch to get rid of Ferdous for 33(31). On Thursday, Renuka Thakur got her first game of the competition, and she struck in her very first over. Unlike her fielding, Radha (3/28) had a better outing with the ball as she removed opposition captain Nigar Sultana (32 off 27 balls) and Mostary (22 off 26 balls) in quick succession. Sree Charani sets new record, gets most wickets for India in a T20 WC edition Sree Charani had another consistent day on the field, as usual. She trapped opener Dilara Akter (4) at deep square leg as the Bangladesh women’s batter failed to clear the fence on a pull shot. In addition to it, she bowled a brilliant 20th over, picking up two wickets and giving away only three runs. Shafali Verma slams 2nd fastest fifty for India in the Women’s WC Smriti Mandhana again flopped with the bat, succumbing for 8 to Marufa Akter. However, Shafali Verma took charge with the bat and slammed a 29-ball fifty, 2nd fastest fifty by India women’s batter in the T20 WC. She even led Women in Blue to 63/1 in powerplay, which was the team’s best powerplay score in the shortest format’s World Cup. However, after her dismissal in the 9th over for 53, India lost Yastika Bhatia (23) and Richa Ghosh (10) quickly in successive overs (12th and 13th). Jemimah and captain Harmanpreet then joined forces in the middle against spin. They had their troubles with run calls in the middle. After a short 26-run cameo by Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma sealed victory for India. After losing to South Africa, India found themselves in a do-or-die situation in their remaining two league games against Bangladesh and Australia. However, they bounced back with a gritty win against the BNG women’s team.