'Good to see Shafali taking responsibility'- Harmanpreet Kaur

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur heaped praise on Shafali Verma, after she played a big role in helping India win a fourth women's T20 Asia Cup trophy. However, the game came to a strange end.

There was a lengthy delay for the presentation, which was attended by only the Sri Lanka players. The Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament - both went to Shafali - were not announced. The trophy was not given to anyone. It rekindled images of the men's Asia Cup in 2025 when India refused to collect the trophy when they learned it would be handed over by Mohsin Naqvi, the Asian Cricket council president who is also the PCB chief and the interior minister of Pakistan. Additionally, Naqvi was one of the dignitaries present at the presentation on Sunday in Dubai.

Shafali topped the Asia Cup run-charts with 236 in five innings and picked up two wickets. She capped off the tournament with 68 off 39 balls as India strolled past Sri Lanka by 72 runs in the final.

"I think Shafali had a great tournament," Harmanpreet said on the broadcast. "It's good to see somebody like Shafali who is taking the responsibility and doing the job with bat and ball." "I can't ask her anything else. It's all about playing good cricket and I am very happy about that. We had very high expectations of us, and we had to meet them every day."

Sunday's win was set up by the India openers, Shafali and Smriti Mandhana, who added 129 runs - the highest partnership for any wicket in the women's T20 Asia Cup. India became the dominant force in Dubai as a result of their stand.

India's head coach, Amol Muzumdar, described the openers' performance as "absolutely fantastic." "Great combination of left and right hands. Shafali has her own distinct style. On the field, she simply puts the opposition on the back foot because of her firepower and charisma. She always has that flair, Smriti. She has that kind of touch. As a result, they work exceptionally well together. I'm glad they had a good time at the show today.