The hosts, United Arab Emirates, led by skipper Esha Oza, were up against Bangladesh, led by skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, in a virtual quarter-final in the 12th and final league game fixture of the ongoing 6th edition of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, on 8th September 2026.
Bangladesh made a couple of changes; Rabeya Khan made her way back into the side, replacing Farjana Easmin, and Sharmin Akhter replaced Ritu Moni in the side for Bangladesh. Indhuja Nandakumar replaced Vaishnave Mahesh in the side for the United Arab Emirates.
Off-spinner Suraksha Kotte provided the home side with a dream start, reducing Bangladesh to 8/2 in the 3rd over of the innings after skipper Esha Oza won the toss and opted to field first. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty joined opening batter Juairiya Ferdous at the crease, and the duo stitched a much-needed 29-run stand for the 3rd wicket. Archara Supriya broke the stand by sending Juairiya Ferdous (16 off 20 balls) back to the pavilion in the 9th over of the innings to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
A 15-run stand for the 4th wicket between Sharmin Akhter and skipper Nigar Sultana Joty took them past the 50-run mark. Suraksha Kotte returned and got the big scalp of the opposition skipper Nigar Sultana Joty (23 off 28 balls) back to the pavilion in the 11th over of the innings to provide the 4th breakthrough for UAE. A vital 42-run stand for the 7th wicket between Sharmin Akhter (38 off 31 balls) and Nahida Akter (16* off 26 balls) took them closer to the 100-run mark.
Bangladesh eventually managed a total of 103/7 in their quota of 20 overs. Suraksha Kotte (4-0-11-3), Heena Hotchandani (4-1-19-0), and Indhuja Nandakumar (4-0-21-2) were the top performers with the ball for the United Arab Emirates.
Chasing a tricky total of 104, the home side dealt a massive blow with the departure of their skipper Esha Oza on the 4th ball of the run chase. Marufa Akter provided the massive first breakthrough for Bangladesh. The UAE never recovered from that blow in the run chase. As a result, they were restricted to 69/9 in their quota of 20 overs, falling 34 runs short of the target.
A 14-run stand for the 4th wicket between Heena Hotchandani (18 off 19 balls) and Theertha Satish, followed by another 14-run stand for the 6th wicket alongside Janani Thirukkumaran, were the only promising stands in the run chase for the home side. The wicket-keeper batter Theertha Satish (11 off 24 balls) was the only other batter to enter the double digits with the bat for the United Arab Emirates. The innings had just three extras.
Rabeya Khan (4-0-14-3), Sultana Khatun (4-0-10-1), Marufa Akter (4-0-9-2), Fahima Khatun (4-0-16-1) and Nahida Akter (4-0-18-2) made up the whole Bangladeshi attack and complemented each other well, which resulted in a commanding performance. Nahida Akter was awarded Player of the Match for her impressive all-round impact, scoring 16 (26 balls) with the bat and returning with match figures of (4-0-18-2) with the ball for her side, playing a crucial role as Bangladesh booked a spot in the semi-final of the ongoing edition.
The Nigar Sultana Joty-led Bangladesh will be up against India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, in the 1st semi-final on 10th September 2026 from 8 PM IST at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.
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