Women’s Asia Cup: India into semis, Mandhana’s record 124, lightning spin crush Hong Kong to seal big win

India storm into Asia Cup semi-finals (Image: BCCI/X) Smriti Mandhan’s record-breaking 124 and a clinical bowling effort helped India crush Hong Kong by 137 runs in their 2026 Women’s Asia Cup encounter in Dubai. After posting 193/5, India bowled out Hong Kong for just 56 in 16.2 overs to seal a massive win and book a place in the semi-finals.

Mandhana’s record breaking attack

Hong Kong won the toss and elected to field, but Mandhana quickly put their decision under pressure. The Indian opener and Shafali Verma gave his team a good start as Verma smashed 28 off 17 balls before departing.After the opening stand, wickets began to fall regularly, but Mandhana continued to attack from one end. She reached her half-century in 40 balls before upping the pace dramatically to reach her century in just 57 deliveries.Mandhana finished with a sensational 124 off 64 balls, hitting 14 fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 193.75. The innings took her to 18 international centuries, moving past Meg Lanning’s 17 to become the leading century maker in women’s international cricket.She also broke Chamari Athapaththu’s record for the highest individual score in Women’s Asia Cup T20 history as she smashed Sri Lanka’s unbeaten 119.Mandhana’s innings finally ended in the final over when she was run out after a mix-up with Bharti Fulmali. However, her dismissal came after she had already powered India to an impressive 193/5.

Indian spinners are suffocating Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s chase never got going as India’s blistering attack throttled the batting line-up from the start. They slipped to 32/3 and struggled to score freely against India’s disciplined bowling.Deepti Sharma led the charge with 3/9 from three overs, removing key batsmen Natasha Miles and Yasmin Daswani while keeping the rate of scoring in check. Prema Rawat, Nandani Sharma and Shree Charani then continued the batting order in Hong Kong.Marina Lamplough offered some resistance with 14 but was eventually removed by Shree Charani before the lower order dropped quickly. Nandani Sharma claimed two wickets while Prema Rawat finished with two as the Indian spinners kept the pressure on.Hong Kong were eventually bowled out for just 56 in 16.2 overs. Shree Charani completed the win by bowling out Shanzeen Shahzad after a sharp piece of work from Rich Ghosh.