Aichi-Nagoya: India retained the women’s cricket gold medal at the Asian Games with a crushing 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final on Tuesday, combining a record batting display with a devastating spin-bowling performance.
Put in to bat, India piled up 216/3, the highest total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games, before their bowlers dismissed Sri Lanka for 69 in 15.4 overs to seal their first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a superb 79 off 45 balls, striking five fours and seven sixes. Richa Ghosh provided a spectacular finish, smashing an unbeaten 49 from just 22 deliveries as India added 59 runs in the final four overs.
Shafali Verma also made a rapid 48 from 29 balls, with three fours and three sixes, as she and Mandhana put on 99 for the opening wicket. Mandhana reached her 37th T20I half-century during the innings and also became the first woman to cross 11,000 international runs.
India lost Shafali in the 10th over and captain Harmanpreet Kaur for 19 before Mandhana departed in the 17th over. Richa, however, kept the assault going and smashed 17 runs in the final over to take India beyond the 200-run mark.
Sri Lanka’s chase never got going as India’s spinners dismantled the batting line-up. Shafali struck twice early, removing Imesha Dulani and Hasini Perera, before Deepti Sharma accounted for captain Chamari Athapaththu for 29.
Deepti then removed Kavisha Dilhari and Sugandika Kumari to finish with outstanding figures of 3/6 from four overs. Shree Charani claimed 2/13, while Shafali and Shreyanka Patil picked up two wickets each.
Sri Lanka slipped from 41/2 at the end of the powerplay to 49/5 and were eventually bowled out for 69, with Kaushani Nuthyangana’s 14 the next-best score after Athapaththu.
The victory gave India their seventh medal of the ongoing Asian Games and their first gold of the edition. It also marked their second consecutive Asian Games women’s cricket title after their triumph at Hangzhou in 2023.
Brief Scores: India 216/3 (Smriti Mandhana 79, Richa Ghosh 49*, Shafali Verma 48) beat Sri Lanka 69 all out in 15.4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 29; Deepti Sharma 3/6, Shree Charani 2/13).
