India opener Shafali Verma has said that her team is fully focused on Bangladesh as they look to keep their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final hopes alive.
The reigning ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup champions are preparing for a very important match at Old Trafford after suffering a six-wicket defeat against South Africa in their previous game.
India currently have four points from three matches and are second in the Group 1 standings because of their better net run rate. South Africa and Bangladesh also have four points from three matches, making the race for the semi-finals extremely tight.
With a challenging final group-stage match against Australia still to come, India know that every remaining game is crucial. However, Verma said the team is not looking too far ahead and is concentrating only on the Bangladesh match.
“Bangladesh is a team we can’t take lightly; they came to this tournament to play good cricket,” said the 22-year-old. “Our focus is to take things game by game and we know we have to win two games. We’ll try to give our best cricket tomorrow and try and win it.
“Talking about the next two games, we all know how important they will be. We go match by match. We play tomorrow against Bangladesh and then we have another game. But we all know that all the games are crucial.”
India began the tournament in excellent fashion with convincing wins over Pakistan and the Netherlands. Those victories put them in a strong position before the setback against South Africa.
The defeat has made the upcoming match even more important, as another loss could seriously hurt India’s chances of reaching the semi-finals. A win, however, would keep them in a strong position heading into their final group game.
Verma has not only contributed with the bat during the tournament but has also made an impact with the ball. The attacking opener has taken five wickets in three matches, including impressive figures of three for 20 in India’s win over the Netherlands.
Her bowling has become an important option for the team, especially in the middle overs, and she said she enjoys helping the side in different ways. At the same time, Verma admitted that bowling in a World Cup is never easy because batters are always looking to attack and score quickly.
“I enjoy my bowling a lot but in the World Cup it is not easy to bowl,” she continued. “I have to keep varying and changing the pace.”
Despite the disappointment of losing to South Africa, Verma said the atmosphere inside the Indian camp remains positive. The players have stayed united and have used the time between matches to prepare well for the challenges ahead.
The team recently spent time together away from cricket and also worked on their skills in training as they looked to move on from the defeat. According to Verma, the players are feeling fresh and confident heading into the Bangladesh clash.
Verma added: “Talking about yesterday, we had a team bonding session, and with that, we did a bit of cricket and skills and we really enjoyed it. We had very good preparation.”
Bangladesh are also very much in the race for a semi-final spot and know that a victory over India would be a huge boost to their qualification hopes.
Batter Sobhana Mostary believes Bangladesh need their top-order batters to provide a strong start if they want to challenge India. She pointed to the 67-run opening partnership against the Netherlands as an example of the kind of start the team needs.
Mostary also stressed the importance of adjusting to conditions in England, which can be very different from those in Bangladesh. “We’re looking at our batting because compared to our country, things have been very different,” said the 24-year-old.
“We need to adapt to our conditions, our openers went well in one match but in two matches they fell down. We’re thinking about the next game, and this ground also, it will help the spinners and the pace bowlers too. That is something we’re thinking about.”
Bangladesh know that their final two group matches against India and South Africa will be extremely difficult. However, Mostary believes her team still has a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals if they can produce strong performances.
The Bangladesh camp remains hopeful and is looking forward to the challenge ahead.
“We’ve got two more games to go and those two games against India and South Africa will be very hard,” she added. “Maybe if we win our next two matches we’ll get to the semi-finals so we’re looking forward. We know this team is good so we’re planning and will move forward.”
With both teams fighting for a place in the knockout stage, the match at Old Trafford promises to be one of the biggest contests of the group stage. A win would take the winning side a major step closer to the semi-finals, while a defeat could leave their qualification hopes in serious danger.
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