India's women handed Pakistan a humiliating defeat in the 9th match of the Women's T20 Asia Cup 2026, played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Pakistan's batting fell apart for just 55 runs, and India cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win. The heavy loss has complicated Pakistan's semifinal hopes, leaving the side with no option but to win their final group-stage match to stay alive in the tournament.
Still backing themselves for the title despite the collapse
Despite the scale of the defeat, Pakistan's camp showed no sign of losing confidence. Wahab Riaz, a former Pakistani player now serving as the team's mentor, fronted the post-match press conference and, while acknowledging the loss, expressed full faith in the squad. "I still think Pakistan is the best team to win this Asia Cup trophy," he said. Wahab Riaz added that the Dubai pitch was good for batting and that Pakistan's decision to bat first after winning the toss was not wrong either, but the players failed to handle the pressure of such a big match, causing the batting order to collapse entirely.
Mental toughness the focus, Hong Kong up next
Wahab Riaz openly admitted that buckling under pressure against India was the team's biggest weakness. He said the support staff will now work on the players' mental toughness and explain to each player where and why they went wrong during the match. According to him, the squad is not short on talent, the players simply need to believe in themselves. Pakistan's next match is against Hong Kong, and before that clash the team management will thoroughly review the mistakes made against India so the same errors are not repeated.
The defeat has also complicated the group-stage arithmetic for Pakistan. The team management knows that without a win in its last league match, the road to the semifinal will be shut, which is why Wahab Riaz's comments carry the hope that the side will bounce back in its remaining games after learning from this defeat. Being bowled out for just 55 also stands as one of the lowest totals Pakistan have posted in this format, and it has understandably raised questions about the batting unit. With the Hong Kong fixture now virtually a must-win game, Pakistan's campaign hinges on erasing this collapse from memory and delivering under pressure when it matters most.
