Women’s Cricket Team Continues Dominance, Wins India’s First Gold at 2026 Asian Games

The Indian women’s cricket team produced another dominant performance on the continental stage, crushing Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the Asian Games 2026 final on Tuesday to successfully defend its women’s cricket gold medal.

The victory gave India its first gold of the ongoing Games and took its overall medal tally to seven, one gold, four silver and two bronze. For India’s women cricketers, it was a second successive Asian Games gold after their triumph at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, with Sri Lanka once again finishing on the losing side in the final.

After winning the toss, India opted to bat and posted a formidable 216 for three, the highest total in Asian Games cricket. Smriti Mandhana set the tone with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, smashing five fours and seven sixes.

Mandhana and Shafali Verma added 99 runs from 60 balls during a dominant powerplay. Shafali continued her excellent form with a quick 48 off 29 deliveries before falling while attempting a reverse sweep.

Mandhana’s innings was significant beyond the match as she became the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs. Her half-century was also her 37th in T20 internationals.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur made 19 off 17 balls before being caught at long-off, but India finished strongly through Richa Ghosh. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed an unbeaten 49 off just 22 balls, with seven fours and three sixes, taking India past the 200-run mark and leaving Sri Lanka with a daunting target of 217.

Sri Lanka’s chase never got going. Captain Chamari Athapaththu offered some resistance with 29 off 21 balls, but India’s bowlers repeatedly struck to dismantle the batting line-up.

Deepti Sharma returned impressive figures of 3/6, while Shafali Verma, Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs.

The emphatic win extended India’s recent dominance over Sri Lanka, coming shortly after the two sides met in the Women’s Asia Cup final, where India also emerged victorious.

The performance drew praise from cricketing figures. India batting great Sachin Tendulkar highlighted the contributions of different players, praising the 99-run opening partnership between Shafali and Mandhana, Richa’s late assault and the bowlers’ efforts in completing the victory.

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan also congratulated the team, celebrating India’s first gold of the Games and its achievement of becoming back-to-back Asian Games champions.

The triumph also drew congratulations from senior national leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a “splendid triumph” and said the team had brought India its first gold of the Games. Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, also congratulated the team on social media.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan won the bronze medal after defeating Bangladesh by 31 runs.

With the women’s team retaining its Asian Games crown, attention now shifts to India’s men’s cricket team, which will look to defend its title later in the competition.