The Indian women’s cricket team created history at the Asian Games 2026. The team won India’s first gold medal at the event. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final. India posted a huge 216-run total after brilliant knocks from Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh.
India dominates Sri Lanka during the final
Chasing 217 runs, Sri Lanka started with captain Chamari Athapaththu and Imesha Dulani. However, the opening pair added only 18 runs before India struck back. Shafali Verma delivered with the ball after her batting performance. She claimed two wickets during the powerplay and dismissed Dulani and Hasini Perera.
Meanwhile, Deepti Sharma removed Sri Lanka’s biggest threat Chamari Athapaththu soon after the powerplay. Athapaththu scored 21 runs from 21 balls with five boundaries. Later, Shreyanka Patil dismissed Harshitha Madhavi without scoring. Sri Lanka lost its fifth wicket through Hansima Karunaratne at 49 runs. Furthermore, Kavisha Dilhari also fell at the same score after Deepti Sharma took her wicket.
Smriti Mandhana’s record-breaking innings
Earlier, India chose to bat first after winning the toss. Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana provided a strong opening partnership. The duo added 99 runs for the first wicket. Shafali missed her half-century by only two runs. She scored 48 runs from 29 balls with three sixes and three fours.
Additionally, Smriti completed her fifty and moved towards a century. However, Sugandika ended her innings at 79 runs. Mandhana scored 79 runs from 45 balls with seven sixes and five fours. During this innings, she completed 11,000 international runs. She became the first woman cricketer worldwide to reach this milestone. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 19 runs from 17 balls.
Richa Ghosh powers India beyond 200 runs
After Mandhana’s dismissal, India had scored 163 runs in 16.5 overs. Reaching 200 seemed difficult at that stage. However, Richa Ghosh changed the situation with her aggressive batting. India reached 216 runs through her explosive finish.
In the final over alone, India collected 25 runs. Richa hit two sixes during that over. She remained unbeaten with 49 runs from 22 balls. Her innings included three sixes and six fours.
