Dubai: India began their 2026 Asian Games women’s cricket title defence in emphatic fashion, defeating hosts Japan by eight wickets in their quarterfinal in Nisshin on Friday.
Japan, playing in front of a home crowd, were bowled out for just 57 in 19.5 overs after India captain Harmanpreet Kaur opted to field. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani led the attack with career-best T20 figures of 4-10. She also recorded two maiden overs while Shafali Verma took 2-13.
Opener Ayaka Kato-Stafford was Japan’s top scorer with 25, but the hosts managed only three boundaries throughout their innings, two of which were scored by Stafford.
Japan didn’t lose a single wicket after reaching 24 in the powerplay. However, Indian bowlers kept the pressure on, with Japan losing wickets regularly after the sixth over.
The Women in Blue needed only 30 balls to complete the chase, reaching 59-2 in five overs.
While her opening partner Gunalan Kamalini went out for a duck, Shafali provided the fireworks, smashing an unbeaten 40 from 15 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Richa Ghosh added an unbeaten 12 of six balls.
The difference between the teams also reflects the different stages of cricket development in the two countries.
Many of Japan’s players balance cricket with education or full-time careers, with the women’s national programme operating largely on a part-time basis. Japan has only 14 cricket clubs across the country.
India will now face Bangladesh in the semifinal on September 20, a rematch of last week’s Women’s Asia Cup semifinal clash.
The defending Asian Games champions are chasing a second consecutive gold medal after winning the title at the 2022 Hangzhou Games which took place in 2023 due to COVID-19 pandemic.
