Indian women's cricket team have secured the nation’s first gold medal in the Asian Games 2026. They defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the Asian Games cricket final at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin to secure the medal. 

The day started with a stunning batting show from the opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. They stitched an opening stand of 99 runs, with Shafali scoring 48 runs off 29 balls. After she departed, Smriti took over the charge, scoring 79 runs off 45 balls. Batting at three, captain Harmanpreet Kaur struggled to make an impression and that’s when Smriti herself kept the scoreboard ticking. 

After she moved back to the pavilion, Richa Ghosh stunned the Sri Lanka bowlers. The Siliguri-born changed the complexion of he contest, which Sri Lanka slightly brought into their favour in the middle overs. The keeper-batter smacked an unbeaten 49 runs off 22 balls as India posted 216 runs on the board in the first innings. It is the highest-ever total in Asian Games history. Meanwhile, Smriti also completed 11,000 runs in international cricket.

Indian spinners dominate second innings

After her stunning show with the bat, Shafali dominated with the ball in the second innings. The spinner claimed two wickets for just three runs in two overs, while Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani were equally effective. Both spinners claimed three each, while Shreyanka Patil picked two. 

Sri Lanka’s entire innings was solely dependent on the shoulders of captain Chamari Athapaththu, but she failed to deliver in the summit clash. The veteran all-rounder made 29 runs off 21 balls before Deepti got the better of her in the seventh over of the innings. After she departed, it was only a matter of time before India wrapped up the game and that’s exactly what happened.

Now, over the years, Sri Lanka’s overdependence on Chamari has hurt them significantly and the final against India wasn’t any different. Apart from her, none of the players could even score over 20 runs and that sums up their batting skill, particularly in a match where the team is chasing 217 runs.

For India, it is another night for jubilation. They secured the gold in the 2022 Asian Games and managed to retain it with a commanding show.

Source: India TV

-Agencies