Shamsunnahar struck a hattrick as Bangladesh stormed into the final of the SAFF U-20 Women's Championship as group champions with an emphatic 5-0 win over Bhutan in the last encounter of the group stages at Birshreshtha Shaheed Shipahi Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur today.

Bangladesh will play Thursday's final against Nepal, who upset pre-tournament favourites India with a come-from-behind 3-1 win to send the defending champions packing.

India needed just one point to ensure a spot in back-to-back finals and they appeared on the right track after taking a 21st-minute lead through Apurna Hazary, but the Himalayan women changed the course of the match drastically by netting thrice in the second half.

After several near-misses, Aklima Khatun opened the scoring for Bangladesh in the 22nd minute after being played in by Shamsunnar. She added a second in the second half.

Things could have gotten even better for Bangladesh in the next minute but Ripa squandered a penalty, hitting it wide.