India retained their Asian Games women’s cricket title on Tuesday, securing a second consecutive gold medal with a commanding 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in Nagoya. The win was anchored by a spectacular 79-run performance from opener Smriti Mandhana at the Korogi Athletic Park ground, where her 45-ball knock featured seven sixes and five fours.
After India captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat, the team posted 216-3, marking the highest women’s total in Asian Games history. The innings saw 18 fours and 13 sixes distributed throughout the display. Following a blistering opening partnership, Shafali Verma fell for 48 off 29 balls, while Kaur added 19 runs. A late-order surge from Richa Ghosh, who hammered 49 off just 22 balls, alongside Bharti Fulmali, saw them take 25 runs from a final over marred by eight wides from bowler Mithali Ayodhya.
Sri Lanka’s chase proved fruitless as the team failed to find momentum. Captain Chamari Athapaththu provided the only notable resistance with 29 runs before the side was skittled for 69 in 15.4 overs, leaving them to accept the silver medal.
Earlier in the day, the bronze medal match saw Pakistan overcome Bangladesh by 31 runs. Facing a difficult position at 67-5 in the 12th over, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana turned the game around with a 67-run partnership with Aliya Riaz, who contributed 25. Sana’s aggressive 45 off 30 balls pushed her team to a total of 145-8. In response, Bangladesh was unable to match the required pace, concluding their innings at 114-7. The report also notes that the highest women’s total in Asian Games history, with 18 fours and 13 sixes in the final on Tuesday, india smashed 216-3 off their 20 overs. The report also notes that playing a needless reverse sweep which she top-edged to Kawya Kavindi at point to fall for 48 off 29 balls, the pair had raced to 99 in the 10th over when Verma had a rush of blood. The report also notes that mandhana, the greatest run-scorer in women’s T20 cricket history, had reached her fifty earlier in the over and sailed on in style, clubbing anything loose to the boundary. The report also notes that and the pair took the score to 141 before the captain holed out to long-off for 19, harmanpreet joined her. The report also notes that ghosh clattered 49 off 22 balls with three sixes and six fours to take India past 200 in the final over.
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