India retain Asian Games women’s cricket title with record win

India retained the Asian Games women’s cricket gold medal in emphatic fashion on Tuesday, crushing Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final in Japan to secure back-to-back titles.

Batting first after winning the toss, India posted 216 for three  the highest team total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Sri Lanka’s chase never got going and they were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs.

The 147-run victory was India’s biggest in a T20 international, surpassing their previous record of a 142-run win over Malaysia at the 2018 Asia Cup. It was also Sri Lanka’s heaviest defeat in the format.

Smriti Mandhana led the way with 79 off

Smriti Mandhana led the way with 79 off 45 balls and reached another major milestone during her innings, becoming the first woman to score 11,000 runs in international cricket. She needed 13 runs at the start of her innings to reach the landmark.

Shafali Verma provided the early momentum, making 48 from 29 balls as she and Mandhana put together 99 runs in the opening 10 overs. Shafali also moved past South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt to become the leading run-scorer in women’s T20 cricket in a calendar year, taking her 2026 tally to 863 runs from 24 innings.

Richa Ghosh then finished strongly, smashing an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls. She added 53 from just 19 deliveries with Fulmali to take India beyond the 200-run mark.

Sri Lanka struggled from the start

Sri Lanka struggled from the start of their reply. They reached 41 for two after the powerplay but then collapsed, losing four wickets for just 11 runs over the next four overs.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu top-scored with 29, but no other Sri Lankan batter could provide a sustained challenge. India off-spinner Deepti Sharma finished with three wickets for six runs.

The victory means India have won both editions of the Asian Games women’s cricket tournament, following their gold-medal success at Hangzhou 2022.

Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 31 runs in the bronze-medal match to finish third, leaving Bangladesh in fourth place.

Source: thereport.live