Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket PlayersCricket brings first gold for India: Harmanpreet’s women defend Asian Games crown with crushing win over Sri Lanka
India won back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in women’s cricket, with Smriti Mandhana’s 79 setting up a commanding victory over Sri Lanka.
Prefer HTon Google
Four days into the Asian Games 2026, India have clinched their first gold medal, with the women’s cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, delivering the result with a thumping 147-run win over Sri Lanka in the final. In a repeat of the 2023 final, the Indian batters put on quite the show, with Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with 79, Shafali Verma contributing with a stroke-filled 48 and Richa Ghosh living up to her role of a finisher as India posted a strong 216/3. Sri Lanka, in response, were bundled out for 69.
India had already defeated Sri Lanka three years ago in Hangzhou and, more recently, in last week’s Asia Cup final, before making it three wins in a row against them in big-ticket multi-nation finals today. The win took India's medal tally to 7, after Suchika Tariyal's MMA bronze and five from shooting.
Also Read: India vs Sri Lanka, Asian Games Gold medal match highlights
Deep Dive
Mandhana, Shafali turn it on
Mandhana’s 79 laid the foundation for the highest total by a women’s team at the Games. In the process, Mandhana added another feather to her already illustrious cap, becoming the first woman to complete 11,000 runs in international cricket, just two days after becoming the lead run-getter in women's T20Is. Mandhana looked like a million bucks and ensured the run rate - which at one stage spiked at 11 - remained on course.
With the boundary ropes pulled in, Mandhana and Shafali’s eyes lit up as they feasted on the Sri Lankan bowlers, blasting 67 runs inside the Powerplay. The duo matched each other shot for shot, with both taking the attack to Chamari Athapaththu. Shafali began the fifth over with two sixes, before Mandhana belted a third; the 19-run over brought up their fifty partnership. Shafali surpassed Laura Wolvaardt to take her tally to 863 runs for the year before a reverse sweep brought about her dismissal - she had survived a stumping appeal earlier in the over. Her last five scores now include a century and two fifties.
Mandhana continued the assault, striking seven sixes. During her 99-run stand with Verma, the two completed 4,000 runs batting together in women’s T20Is. Promoting Harmanpreet to No. 3 was a deliberate move, with the belief that the India skipper could find some form, but she departed for a scratchy 17 off 19 balls. Her dismissal brought Richa to the crease, with the wicketkeeper batter also having struggled for form, but she quickly found her rhythm, remaining unbeaten on 49 off 22 balls.
India tonked a total of 13 sixes, the most by a team in women's T20Is.
Sri Lanka's underwhelming chase
Sri Lanka’s response was in stark contrast to how the Indian counterparts had fared. It took Shafali just three overs to land the first blow, and before Sri Lanka knew it, they were struggling at 49/6. Athapaththu was the only batter who looked comfortable, hitting five boundaries, while eight batters failed to reach double figures. After the first two overs from Kranti Gaud and Nandani Sharma, Harman turned to her spinners, after which the Lankan batting unravelled. Shafali began the demolition, Sree Charane added to the misery, before Deepti Sharma's 3/6 knocked the stuffing out of the opposition.
Barring the T20 World Cup blip, the Asian Games gold medal adds to India women's growth in world cricket. In November, they won the 50-over World Cup, lifted the Asia Cup and now the Games crown. Say what you may about Harmanpreet, the team continues to deliver results under her.
“It’s a fantastic feeling. Before the tournament, we talked a lot about staying unbeaten, but more importantly, about playing to the high standards we set for ourselves. It’s so satisfying to see everyone approach every game with such a positive mindset. Every single player who got an opportunity stepped up and delivered solid performances. As a captain and as a collective, that's exactly what we were looking for, maintaining an unbeaten run while consistently putting in this quality of performance is what we expected of ourselves, and it’s great to see everyone execute that vision with confidence.”
Richa the difference-maker
India experienced a bit of a lull in the middle overs, but Richa’s late onslaught made the difference between a 190 and a 200-plus total. The last over fetched India 25 runs, with Richa belting a couple of sixes even as Mithali Ayodhya conceded five wides. Last year, Richa lifted a trophy that an Indian cricket team hadn't won since 2011; adding a gold just makes it that much sweeter.
“The difference in feeling between both [trophy and medal], when you stand on the podium and sing the national anthem, so I think when you feel the national anthem there, that is a different feeling and the trophy, no doubt, that is also good, that is also enjoyable for us. So both have a very different feeling, so I cannot make either of them less,” she said after the match with medal around their necks.
