beat Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the Women’s Asia Cup 2026 final at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday to win a record-extending eighth title. However, they declined to collect the trophy from Asian Cricket Council president .
’s side posted 183 for 5 and bowled Sri Lanka out for 111. Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, was on the presentation dais and handed the runners-up cheque to Chamari Athapaththu. India did not come out for the winners’ medals or the cup. Head coach later said that decision belonged to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Asked about the presentation at the press conference, Amol Muzumdar did not treat it as a dressing-room improvisation.
“That stand has been taken by the , and we stand by it. For us, this tournament is over. We are the champions,” he said.
“It was on the big board that India ‘Champions of Asia Cup 2026’. This tournament is officially over for us. Now, we look forward to the Asian Games,” he added.
The official result lists India as champions. The team marked the win with the tournament banner. The silverware stayed off the podium.
The women’s ceremony followed the men’s in Dubai last year. After India beat Pakistan, the presentation was delayed by more than an hour. Former Bangladesh cricketer Aminul Islam distributed medals. Naqvi gave the runner-up cheque to Salman Agha. Presenter Simon Doull then announced that India would not collect their awards, and the event ended.
BCCI secretary said then that the board would not take the trophy from the ACC chairman “who happens to be one of the main leaders of Pakistan.” That men’s trophy has still not been handed over. On Sunday, the women’s team applied the same rule.
India won the toss and batted. Shafali Verma made 68 off 39 balls and Smriti Mandhana 59 off 39. They registered a 129-run opening stand, the highest for any wicket in a Women’s T20 Asia Cup final. Shafali reached fifty in 24 balls, the fastest fifty in the tournament’s history. India closed on 183/5.
Sri Lanka’s chase never settled. N. Shree Charani took four wickets. Deepti Sharma took three, removing Vishmi Gunaratne and Athapaththu in the 10th over. The win also squared the 2024 final, when Sri Lanka beat India to lift their maiden title.
India now travel to Aichi-Nagoya in Japan for the , starting from the quarterfinals. Amol Muzumdar has already shifted the focus there. The title is India’s. The cup, for now, is not.
