NISSHIN, JAPAN, Sep 22: Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. clinched India’s first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women’s cricket final here on Tuesday.
The victory also saw India successfully defend the title they won at the previous edition.
Opting to bat, India rode a sensational 79 from opener Smriti Mandhana to post 216 for 3.
The bowlers then ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up, bowling them out for a paltry 69 in 15.4 overs.
Spinners Shree Charani (2/13), Shafali Verma (2/3), Shreyanka Patil (2/9) and Deepti Sharma (3/6) shared nine wickets between them.
Brief Scores: India 216 for 3 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 79, Richa Ghosh 49 not out, Shafali Verma 48; Chamudi Praboda 1/34.)
Sri Lanka 69 all out in 15.4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 29; Deepti Sharma 3/6).
