Shree Charani’s 4/10 sets the tone and Shafali Verma does the rest as India thump Japan to reach Asian Games semis

Chasing 58 to win, the Indian team needed just five overs to get over the line in their quarterfinal match against hosts Japan at Nisshin.

The Indian women’s cricket team has reached the semifinals of the 2026 Asian Games after thrashing Japan by eight wickets at Nisshin on Friday. They will now play Bangladesh in the last-four on Sunday, after their subcontinental neighbours’ quarterfinal against China on Thursday was washed out without a single ball being bowled, and Nigar Sultana’s bunch advanced to the next round on account of their better ranking.

Shafali Verma was just too good against Japan. (BCCI Women)

Anyway, Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to bowl. The Japanese team appeared to bat with the following strategy: just don’t get bowled out. Which was understandable. They were playing against one of the biggest teams in the world, and they wanted to give a decent account of themselves in front of their home fans. As a result, they didn’t lose a single wicket in the power play, even though there were just 24 runs on the board. However, as the Indian spinners warmed up and began bowling nicely, the home team had no answers to their guile. Shree Charani returned with figures of 4/10 as the Japanese team were bundled out for 57 in 19.5 overs. Shafali Verma, meanwhile, chipped in with two wickets. Shreyanka Patil and Deepti Sharma were also among the wickets with one scalp each. Opener Ayaka Kato Stafford was the only Japanese batter who showed some resistance with 25 runs off 47 balls.

Deep Dive

What was the outcome of the women's cricket quarter-final match between India and Japan at the Asian Games 2026?

How did Shafali Verma perform in the quarter-final against Japan?

Why was the match between Bangladesh and China significant for India's semifinal placement?

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Of course, the target was never going to challenge the Indian team. However, fans were in for a surprise after it emerged that it was not Smriti Mandhana who walked out to open the innings along with Verma. It was Gunalan Kamalini. Anyway, Verma showed her intention right from the first ball. She picked up four fours from the first over, bowled by Ahilya Chandel. First through the covers, second over mid-on, third, a nice cut past point, and finally a one-bounce four through the covers. 17 runs from the over, and the Indians were off their blocks. However, off the first ball of the next over, Kamalini fell rather tamely for a duck. She hit straight into the hands of Chandel at long-on off the bowling of Nonoha Yasumoto. No.3 Bharti Fulmali also disappointed. She fell for 6 off Kato Stafford after she went for a big shot on the leg side. A leading edge was nicely taken by Shimako Kato at backward point.

These two quick wickets didn’t deter Verma, who continued her assault. She finished the match with a big six as India took the contest by eight wickets and 90 balls to spare. Verma remained unbeaten on 40 off 15 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes. Richa Ghosh was unbeaten at the other end on 12 off six balls.