India Women vs Hong Kong, China Women, Match 7, Group A, Women's Asia Cup 2026 - CommentaryINDW vs HKC W, Match 7, Group A, Women's Asia Cup 2026 - Commentary

That’s a wrap for tonight! India Women were nothing short of dominant, putting together a comprehensive performance to seal their place in the knockouts. Tomorrow, we have UAE taking on Indonesia. We hope you enjoyed our coverage. It’s goodbye, goodnight and take care from Siva, Kiran Nataraj and Hardik Worah. Until next time, ciao!

Stats by Roshan Gede

Most T20I wickets for IND-W in a calendar year
35 - Poonam Yadav in 2018
31* - Shree Charani in 2026
30 - Deepti Sharma in 2024
29 - Deept Sharma in 2022
29 - Radha Yadav in 2024

Biggest victory margins for IND-W in T20Is
142 runs vs MAS-W, Kuala Lumpur, Asia Cup 2018
137 runs vs HKG-W, Dubai, Asia Cup 2026
104 runs vs UAE-W, Sylhet, Asia Cup 2022
100 runs vs Barbados Women, Commonwealth Games 2022
97 runs vs ENG-W, Trent Bridge, 2025

Highest victory margins in Women’s T20 Asia Cup
147 runs - PAK-W vs MAS-W, Kuala Lumpur, 2018
144 runs - SL-W vs MAS-W, Dambulla, 2024
142 runs - IND-W vs MAS-W, Kuala Lumpur, 2018
137 runs - IND-W vs HKG-W, Dubai, Asia Cup 2026
114 runs - BAN-W vs MAS-W, Dambulla, 2024

Harmanpreet Kaur | India captain: [Is middle order a concern?] I’ll start with the positives. Smriti and Shafali batted really well. In the middle overs, that’s why we wanted to bat (first).. to get used to these conditions. Today’s pitch was better than how it played in the previous game, but it’s all about spending some time on the pitch and getting used to these conditions because we are not that aware of these conditions. Still, we managed what we wanted as a team, scoring close to 200, and later on, the bowlers did a great job. [Any changes for the next game now that you have qualified?] The team is pretty much sorted, but there is another day to think about if something needs to change, or if someone else can come up and take responsibility. For now, the team is pretty much sorted. [On Mandhana and Deepti] As a captain, I’m grateful that these players play for my country, and leading them is always a great opportunity. Good to see someone like Smriti getting the runs and playing that crucial innings for the team. Deepti keeps doing the hard work whenever the team needs it, and it’s great to see her get the crucial wickets again. [On HKC] The one thing I really like about them is the way they celebrate on the field. That’s a great learning, because when you keep playing hard cricket, one thing you always forget is to enjoy yourself on the field. Whenever we see them playing, no matter what the result, they enjoy each and every single moment on the field. That’s a great learning for us also.

Smriti Mandhana | Player of the Match: [Who would you dedicate this century to?] I don't have anyone in mind who I would like to dedicate, but definitely, my family. [What adjustments did you make tonight?] We’re not really aware of (the opposition). We had seen a few videos, but not really aware. We’re playing them for the first time, so when you come against a bowler who you don’t know a lot, you have to just forget that you’ve played whatever cricket. You just have to go, watch the ball, and I think it was more about just adjusting to the pace. [On missing out on full tosses in the powerplay] I would say that full tosses are not my strength (laughs). I’m happy that I could get away with a few of the full tosses today. I think any top-order batter would say that sometimes full tosses can go for a six, or you can get out.

Natasha Miles | HKC captain: [What positives can you take from today?] We did bowl really well in phases. Smriti obviously played out of this world and sort of showed us what they're capable of. But the girls definitely put their best foot forward and they did their best, and we still have a lot of learnings and a lot of areas to improve on. But in our first ten to eleven overs, we had a little bit of the game on our hands. [Where could the bowling unit improve?] Just a little bit, maybe consistency in our plans and execution. But at the same time, we're playing a class opposition, and we just have to get that ability to put the ball exactly where we want it to be and make it as hard as possible for players like this. [On the batting] We just need a bit more exposure and get a little bit more confidence. I've seen all of us play some pretty spectacular shots and some pretty good innings. But, of course, as you're climbing up the ladder and playing teams above you, it's how do you still gain that confidence and maintain your shape and everything to still kind of play that shot against somebody a little bit quicker. [What did you learn from India today?] Oh, quite a lot, to be honest. The bravery, I was just talking to Harman, the bravery which they play with is something we can definitely take away. Of course, everybody trains, and they learn to play all the shots, but their ability to just go out there and do it from ball one is probably a big learning for us.

21:30 Local Time, 17:30 GMT, 23:00 IST: India have completed a 137-run victory over Hong Kong, China and become the first team to qualify for the knockouts. The two teams shake hands, with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur sporting a big smile. She looks happy, and rightly so. Once Smriti Mandhana smashed 124 off 64 balls to power India to 193/5, it was all but over for Hong Kong, China. They never looked alive in the chase, with Natasha Miles, Yasmin Daswani and Marina Lamplough the only batters to make it into double figures. HKC lost their last six wickets for just four runs, and were eventually bowled out for 56. Deepti Sharma finished with three wickets, while Nandani Sharma, Shree Charani and Prema Rawat claimed two each. This is now India Women’s second-biggest win by runs in T20Is. Stay tuned for the post-match reaction..

Shree Charani to Shanzeen Shahzad, THATS OUT!! Stumped!!

Deepti Sharma to Shanzeen Shahzad, THATS OUT!! Run Out!!

Deepti Sharma to Iqra Sahar, THATS OUT!! Caught!!