Asian Games: India's women thrash Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win gold

The Indian women's cricket team scripted history at the ongoing Asian Games 2026 in Japan. India's women faced Sri Lanka's women in the final, where India thrashed Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the gold medal. This is India's first ever gold medal in cricket at the Asian Games. With the defeat, Sri Lanka had to settle for silver.

India won the toss and chose to bat first. Batting first, India piled up 216 runs in 20 overs, setting Sri Lanka an equally daunting target. Chasing such a big total, Sri Lanka looked under pressure from the start and were bowled out for just 69 runs.

Chasing a target of 217 runs, Sri Lanka's opening stand was extremely weak. Indian bowlers hit the right areas from the outset, piling pressure on the Sri Lankan batters and never letting up. Opener Imesha Dulani could manage only 3 runs off 10 balls before getting out, while Hasini Perera returned to the pavilion without opening her account. Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu fought alone, scoring 29 runs off 21 balls, the highest for her side. Apart from her, Kavisha Dilhari could manage only 11 runs. The other batters failed to make much of an impact, and the entire team was bowled out for 69 runs.

In India's innings, Smriti Mandhana blazed away with the bat. Even after Shafali Verma got out, Mandhana's onslaught continued. Mandhana scored 79 runs off just 45 balls at a strike rate of 175.56, an innings that included five fours and seven sixes. During this innings, Smriti Mandhana also completed 11,000 runs in international women's cricket.

This 147-run win is the biggest win by margin of runs in the history of the Indian women's team in T20 International cricket. With this dominant performance by the Indian women, the Indian tricolour once again flew high with pride at the Asian Games.