Nisshin (Japan): The Indian women's cricket team won the gold medal with a sunny performance in the Asian Games 2026. India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final played at Korogi Sports Park on Tuesday. Batting first, India scored 216 runs for three wickets in 20 overs. In reply, the unshortened Sri Lankan team tabular for 69 runs in 15.4 overs. With this victory, India won its second subsequent gold medal in women's cricket in the Asian Games. Also, this was India's first gold medal in the competition.
Had Mandhana and Shafali decided their victory here?
India won the toss and decided to bat first and put pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers from the very beginning. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave a strong start to the team by subtracting 99 runs for the first wicket. Mandhana scored 79 runs in 45 balls, while Shafali returned without scoring 48 runs in 29 balls. Together, both of them made India's intentions well-spoken in the powerplay itself. There were five fours and seven sixes in Mandhana's innings.
How did India reach 216 runs?
Even without the dismissal of the opening pair, India's run rate did not decrease. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur widow 19 runs, but Richa Ghosh showed the real pace. The wicketkeeper batsman scored unbeaten 49 runs in just 22 balls. With the help of fours and sixes in her innings, India kept scoring runs rapidly in the last overs. The partnership of Richa and Bharti Fulmali took India vastitude 200 runs and the team scored 216/3.
Why was this final special for Mandhana?
Smriti Mandhana, who played an inning of 79 runs in the final, registered flipside big victory in her name. During this innings she completed 11 thousand runs in international cricket. She became the first sexuality cricketer to reach this milestone. At a time when the team needed a strong start in the final, Mandhana's warlike batting led India to a big score.
Why could Sri Lankan batsmen not survive?
In reply to India's 216 runs, the Sri Lankan innings faltered from the beginning. Indian bowlers gave very few chances to score runs and kept taking wickets continuously. Captain Chamari Athapaththu did put up some resistance by scoring 29 runs in 21 balls, but he did not get much support from the other end. The rest of the batsmen could not stand versus the Indian wade and the unshortened team returned to the pavilion on 69 runs.
from the Gold Medal match as #TeamIndia secure their biggest victory (by runs) in women's T20Is
Scorecard https://t.co/DVlhLBajxB#AsianGames pic.twitter.com/hIOUJIwf1x
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 22, 2026 from the Gold Medal match as #TeamIndia secure their biggest victory (by runs) in women's T20Is
Scorecard https://t.co/DVlhLBajxB#AsianGames pic.twitter.com/hIOUJIwf1x
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 22, 2026Who took writ of India in bowling?
After the batsmen, the bowlers moreover completed their work well. Deepti Sharma took three wickets giving only six runs in four overs. Shafali Verma, Sri Charani and Shreyanka Patil moreover kept the pressure on Sri Lanka by taking wickets. Chasing the target of 217 runs, the Sri Lankan team kept losing wickets at regular intervals and the match became one-sided.
How did India repeat its three-year-old feat?
India had older won the gold medal in women's cricket in the Hangzhou Asian Games. Even then Sri Lanka was India's opponent in the final. In 2026, both the teams once then came squatter to squatter in the title match and India won again. This time the margin of victory was 147 runs. India's score of 216 runs moreover became the highest team score in Asian Games women's cricket history.
What did this victory midpoint for India?
With this victory of the women's cricket team, India opened its gold medal worth in the Asian Games 2026. The team left Sri Lanka overdue in both batting and bowling in the final. Mandhana's fast innings, Richa Ghosh's warlike style and the tight bowling of the bowlers made India the Asian Games champion for the second subsequent time.
