GUWAHATI: India clinched the women’s cricket gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.
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Put in to bat first, India posted 216/3 in 20 overs, powered by an aggressive 79 off 45 balls from Smriti Mandhana. Shafali Verma provided a strong start at the top, while Richa Ghosh produced a late surge with a quickfire 49 off 22 deliveries.
Mandhana and Verma put together an opening partnership of 98 runs before Verma was dismissed for 48. Mandhana continued to attack the Sri Lankan bowlers and helped keep the scoring rate high before her innings came to an end.
Ghosh then took charge in the closing stages, striking boundaries at regular intervals to take India past the 200-run mark. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also contributed before being dismissed.
Sri Lanka struggled to build momentum during the chase as India’s bowlers kept picking up wickets at regular intervals. Shafali made an impact with the ball early on, dismissing Imesha Dulani and Hasini Perera.
Deepti Sharma then removed Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu for 29 off 21 balls, further weakening the chase. Shreyanka Patil and Sree Charani continued the pressure through the middle overs as Sri Lanka lost wickets in quick succession.
Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out inside 16 overs, handing India a 147-run victory and their second consecutive women’s cricket gold medal at the Asian Games.
Deepti Sharma finished with three wickets, while Shafali Verma, Sree Charani and Shreyanka Patil claimed two wickets each.
Sri Lanka, who had also finished behind India in the recent Asia Cup, took home the silver medal.