Highlights

• India posted 149 for 6; Bangladesh restricted to 109 for 7 in 20 overs
• Deepti Sharma took 3/26; Shree Charani and Prema Rawat took one wicket each
• Kranti Gaud's running catch dismissed Dilara Akter
• India will face either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in Sunday's (13) final

SHAFALI VERMA's stroke-filled 64 off 40 balls took India into yet another Women's Asia Cup final as they beat Bangladesh by 40 runs in Dubai on Thursday (10).

On a slow surface where batting was a struggle for most players, Shafali stood out with a fluent innings that took India to 149 for six. The Indian opener was dropped three times and made Bangladesh pay for those mistakes.

Given the conditions and India's bowling resources, the seven-time champions were expected to defend the target, and they did so comfortably, restricting Bangladesh to 109 for 7 in 20 overs.

Bangladesh never threatened India despite the aggressive intent of opener Juairiya Ferdous (14 off 18). Ferdous and her opening partner Dilara Akter (21 off 26) both fell while attempting to clear the mid-wicket boundary. Kranti Gaud's running catch to dismiss Akter was a standout effort on an otherwise ordinary day for the fielders.

As in the previous match, Pratika Rawal dropped a couple of catches.

India's spin trio of Deepti Sharma (3/26), Shree Charani (1/14) and Prema Rawat (1/21) delivered in the spin-friendly conditions.

It has been a low-scoring tournament, mainly due to the slow nature of the pitches. Given that and Bangladesh's batting, India knew they had enough runs on the board.

They will play either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the final, scheduled for Sunday (13).

India most successful team

With seven titles (four in 50-over format and three T20s), India are the most successful team in the tournament's history. They had suffered a shocking loss to Sri Lanka in the previous edition.

Earlier, the Bangladesh bowling attack, which has been impressive throughout the tournament, kept India's batters quiet for much of the innings. Four dropped catches let Bangladesh down, or India would have struggled to get past the 120-run mark.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur (24 not out off 28), usually a strong player of spin, struggled for most of her innings, managing just four runs off her first 16 balls.

Shafali single-handedly steered India to a competitive total, despite a remarkable stroke of luck, having been dropped on 6, 11 and 56. While the top-four batters batted at a sub-100 strike rate, Shafali ended with a strike rate of 160, including three sixes off the spinners.

The destructive opener played shots all around the park, with her innings including a front-foot pull off pacer Marufa Akter, a reverse sweep and big hits down the ground off the spinners.

India reached 45 for one in the powerplay but could not accelerate in the middle overs.

India's new number three, Pratika Rawal (20 off 24), who has been under pressure during the tournament, made a sizzling start on Thursday with a copy-book cover drive off Akter. Later in her innings, she came out of the crease to hit a six before falling to the same bowler.

Richa Ghosh (21 off 16) was slow to get going but added valuable runs. Captain Harmanpreet redeemed herself with a couple of sixes towards the end.