Indian women thrash Sri Lanka by 147 runs to defend Asian Games cricket gold

The Indian women's cricket team scripted history at the Asian Games 2026, thrashing Sri Lanka in the final to defend their gold medal. India had also won gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Batting first after winning the toss, India put up a huge total of 216 for 3 in 20 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs. India won the match by a massive margin of 147 runs. Sri Lanka took silver and Pakistan had to settle for bronze in the tournament.

India's wait for gold finally ended on the third day of the Asian Games. In the first two days, India had won 4 silver and 2 bronze medals, but gold had kept slipping away. The team, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, made up for that shortfall. Considered strong contenders for the title from the start, the Indian team maintained its dominance on the field.

India's 216 in the final is now the highest score in women's cricket in Asian Games history. This is only the second time a team has crossed 200 in women's cricket at the Asiad. The previous record was held by Hong Kong, who had scored 202 for 4 against Mongolia in 2023.

Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, along with Richa Ghosh, played key roles in India's win. Mandhana and Shafali gave an aggressive start with a strong 99-run opening partnership. Mandhana completed her fifty in just 30 balls. Shafali missed her fifty by just 2 runs and was out for 48. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then returned to the pavilion after scoring 19. At the other end, Mandhana kept up a flurry of fours and sixes, playing a blistering innings of 79 off 45 balls with 5 fours and 7 sixes.

After Mandhana's dismissal, Richa Ghosh took charge. Richa and Bharti Fulmali added just 53 runs for the fourth wicket to take India past 200. Richa remained unbeaten on 49 off 22 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes, while Bharti was unbeaten on 7. For Sri Lanka, Sugandika Kumari, Kavisha Dilhari and Chamudi Prabodha took a wicket each.

Chasing a huge target of 217, Sri Lanka's batting collapsed completely against the Indian bowlers and no batter could hold on. Notably, Smriti Mandhana alone scored 79 runs, while the entire Sri Lankan team could only manage 69 runs. This is India's biggest win by margin of runs in women's T20 International cricket. India had previously beaten Malaysia by 142 runs in the 2018 Asia Cup.

With this historic win, the Indian women's team has recorded its 8th consecutive win in the T20 format, the longest winning streak by an Indian team in this format so far. The team had previously won 7 consecutive matches in 2018. India also continues to dominate against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka last beat India in the final of the 2024 Asia Cup, but India has won 8 consecutive matches against them since then. Within just 10 days, India has beaten Sri Lanka in the final of a major tournament for the second time.