India secured their first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games after Harmanpreet Kaur’s women defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the cricket final on Tuesday.
The victory also saw India successfully defend the women’s cricket title they won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Batting first, India posted a formidable 216/3 in 20 overs, before bowling Sri Lanka out for just 69 in 15.4 overs.
Smriti Mandhana Leads India’s Batting Charge
Smriti Mandhana was the star of India’s innings, scoring 79 runs to give the defending champions a commanding start.
Mandhana and Shafali Verma put on an aggressive opening display, with India reaching 67 runs inside the Powerplay. The pair eventually added 99 for the opening wicket, with Shafali contributing 48.
Mandhana’s innings included seven sixes and helped India post the highest total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games.
The innings also marked another milestone for Mandhana, who became the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs. She had only recently become the leading run-scorer in women’s T20I cricket.
Richa Ghosh Provides Late Firepower
After Harmanpreet Kaur was dismissed for 17, Richa Ghosh took charge of the final stages of India’s innings.
Ghosh smashed an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls, helping India finish with 216/3.
The total gave Sri Lanka a daunting target of 217 and put India firmly in control before the second innings began.
Sri Lanka Collapse In Run Chase
Sri Lanka struggled from the outset and were reduced to 49/6 during their chase.
Chamari Athapaththu was among the few Sri Lankan batters to offer resistance, but the Indian bowling attack kept the pressure on throughout the innings.
Deepti Sharma finished with outstanding figures of 3/6, while Shree Charani and Shafali Verma claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 69 in 15.4 overs.
India therefore completed a comprehensive 147-run victory and retained their Asian Games women’s cricket crown.
Back-To-Back Asian Games Gold
The triumph is India’s second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in women’s cricket, following their victory in the inaugural women’s cricket competition at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
The result also continues India’s strong run against Sri Lanka in major finals. India had beaten Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asian Games final and, more recently, defeated them in the 2026 Women’s Asia Cup final.
The gold medal takes India’s overall Asian Games medal tally to seven, according to reports following the cricket final.
