India retained the Asian Games women’s cricket gold medal with a commanding 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final at the Aichi Prefectural Korogi Sports Park on Tuesday. The defending champions produced a dominant all-round performance to secure their second consecutive Asian Games title.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, India posted a massive 216 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, setting the foundation for a formidable total. She shared a 99-run opening partnership with Shafali Verma, who scored a rapid 48 from 29 deliveries.
India accelerated strongly in the closing stages, with wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh providing the late fireworks. Ghosh remained unbeaten on 49 from just 22 balls, helping India cross the 200-run mark and set Sri Lanka a daunting target of 217.
Sri Lanka struggled throughout the chase and were eventually bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs. Captain Chamari Athapaththu offered some resistance with 29, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to build partnerships against India's disciplined bowling attack. Deepti Sharma was particularly impressive, claiming three wickets for only six runs.
The 147-run victory confirmed India's dominance in the women's cricket competition and saw Sri Lanka finish with the silver medal for the second consecutive Asian Games. The result also marked another gold-medal triumph for India over Sri Lanka following their meeting in the previous edition of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan secured the bronze medal after defeating Bangladesh by 31 runs in the third-place playoff. Attention now turns to the men's T20 competition, which is scheduled to begin on September 24 as the cricket action at the Asian Games continues.
