Pakistan Beat Bangladesh to Win Women’s Cricket Bronze at Asian Games

Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 31 runs to win the bronze medal in the women’s cricket competition at the Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan, on Tuesday.

Umm-e-Hani produced an outstanding bowling spell. She took three wickets for just 10 runs in four overs.

Captain Fatima Sana also played a key role. Her aggressive 45 helped Pakistan recover from a difficult position and post 145 for eight.

Bangladesh finished their innings at 114 for seven.

Fatima Leads Pakistan’s Recovery

After winning the toss, Fatima chose to bat first.

Gull Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar added 46 runs in 6.4 overs. Gull scored 31 from 23 balls, including six fours.

Nahida Akter ended the opening partnership. Shawaal then departed after scoring 17 from 27 balls.

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Bangladesh quickly took control. Five Pakistani wickets fell for only 21 runs.

That collapse left Pakistan at 67 for five.

Fatima then changed the momentum. She smashed 45 from 30 balls.

Her innings included three fours and three sixes.

A crucial 67-run partnership with Aliya Riaz helped Pakistan rebuild. Aliya scored 25 from 22 balls, including two sixes and a four.

The scoring rate improved after Pakistan reached 90 for five in 15 overs. Fatima hit Rabeya Khan for six.

Both batters then cleared the boundary against Sanjida Akter in the 17th over.

Pakistan added 55 runs during the final five overs. Bangladesh fought back in the last over and conceded only seven runs.

Nahida, Shorna Akter and Ritu Moni took two wickets each for Bangladesh.

Umm-e-Hani Destroys Bangladesh’s Top Order

Pakistan started their defence strongly.

Umm-e-Hani and Tasmia Rubab reduced Bangladesh to 20 for three within five overs.

A wicket in her first over gave Umm-e-Hani an immediate impact. She removed Juairiya Ferdous.

Tasmia then dismissed Dilara Akter for 12.

Another breakthrough came from Umm-e-Hani in the fifth over. Sobhana Mostary became her second victim.

Saira Jabeen took all three catches during Bangladesh’s early collapse. She also produced a spectacular effort near the cover boundary to dismiss Dilara.

Nigar and Sharmin Offer Resistance

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana and Sharmin Akhter attempted to rebuild the innings.

The pair added 47 runs for the fourth wicket.

Nigar scored 25 from 30 balls. Three fours came from her bat.

Sharmin remained unbeaten on 46 from 45 balls. Her innings included four boundaries.

However, Bangladesh needed more than 10 runs per over at the halfway stage.

Ayesha Zafar then trapped Nigar leg-before in the 14th over.

Successive overs brought further breakthroughs. Umm-e-Hani dismissed Shorna Akter for six, while Fatima removed Ritu Moni.

Nashra Sandhu claimed the seventh wicket. She dismissed Rabeya Khan with Bangladesh on 93.

From that point, the target moved beyond Bangladesh’s reach.

Umm-e-Hani Records Career-Best Figures

Three wickets for 10 runs gave Umm-e-Hani her career-best T20I figures.

Her previous best was two for 28 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla earlier this year.

Fatima also completed a strong all-round performance. Her wicket of Ritu Moni took her 2026 T20I tally to 31 wickets.

The captain also entered the match as Pakistan’s leading T20I run-scorer in 2026. Her 45 lifted her total to 540 runs for the year.

Pakistan Secure Third Asian Games Medal

The bronze marked Pakistan’s third medal in women’s cricket at the Asian Games.

Previous gold-medal triumphs came in 2010 and 2014.

The result also provided redemption after Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in the bronze-medal match at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Earlier in this campaign, Pakistan secured a three-wicket quarter-final win over Thailand.

Sri Lanka then ended their gold-medal hopes with an eight-wicket victory in the semi-final.

A bronze-medal victory over Bangladesh ensured Pakistan finished the tournament on the podium.

India Win Gold Medal

India claimed the women’s cricket gold after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.

Batting first, India posted 216 for three.

Smriti Mandhana led the scoring with 79 from 45 balls. Shafali Verma added 48 from 29 balls.

Richa Ghosh then produced a powerful 22-ball 49. Her innings helped India recover from a middle-order wobble.

Sri Lanka struggled during the chase and folded for 69 runs.

Only three Sri Lankan batters reached double figures. Captain Chamari Athapaththu was among them.

Deepti Sharma took three wickets for six runs in four overs. Her spell also included a maiden.

Shafali claimed the first two Sri Lankan wickets. She conceded only three runs in her two overs.

Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil took two wickets each.

Patil dismissed Kaushini Nuthyangana to complete India’s victory.

India retained the gold medal they won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Sri Lanka took silver to complete the women’s cricket podium.