- By Samannay Sen
- Sun, 13 Sep 2026 07:46 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss for the first time in the tournament.
- India opted to bat first against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final.
- Both teams have announced their playing XIs for the title clash.
India Women captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka Women in the Asia Cup 2026 final. With the continental title at stake, India have chosen to put runs on the board first and will look to make the most of their batting opportunity in the summit clash.
The toss also saw Harmanpreet win for the first time in the tournament. The India captain acknowledged the pressure that comes with playing a final but stressed the importance of putting up a strong total and playing positive cricket.
India have made one change to their XI, with Pratika Rawal resting and Gunalan Kamalini coming into the side.
Harmanpreet Kaur Opts To Bat First
After winning the toss, Harmanpreet explained that India wanted to bat first and set a competitive target for Sri Lanka.
“We are going to bat first. It's a very important game for us, put up a score on the board. Every final is important, there is pressure, but we need to play good cricket.”
The India captain also confirmed the only change to her side, with Kamalini replacing Pratika Rawal.
“We have one change, Pratika is resting and Kamalini is playing.”
India will therefore rely on a strong top order featuring Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur, while Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma add further depth to the batting line-up.
Chamari Athapaththu Wanted To Bowl First
Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu revealed that her team would definitely have bowled first had they won the toss.
The Sri Lankan skipper backed her bowlers after their impressive performances in the previous matches.
“If we won the toss, definitely we would have bowled first, because we back our skills. Last few games we have bowled really good.”
Athapaththu also spoke about the importance of defending the Asia Cup title and the wider development of Sri Lankan cricket.
“Actually, it's a really good thing for me as well as the team. As a country, we need to improve our cricket all the time. So we have good players. We will stick with our plans and we'll try to play positive cricket in the middle.”
Sri Lanka have also made one change for the final, with Vishmi Gunaratne replacing Sanjana Kavindi.
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India Women Playing XI
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (w), Gunalan Kamalini, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma.
Sri Lanka Women Playing XI
Chamari Athapaththu(c), Imesha Dulani, Vishmi Gunaratne, Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Sugandika Kumari, Chamudi Praboda, Mithali Ayodhya.