India’s women’s cricket team opened the country’s gold-medal account at the 2026 Asian Games with a commanding 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final on Tuesday.
Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the defending champions produced a dominant all-round performance at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, to claim their second consecutive Asian Games gold in women’s cricket. India had also defeated Sri Lanka in the final at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.
After being asked to bat first, India posted a massive 216/3 in 20 overs, their highest-ever total in women’s cricket at the Asian Games. Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a blistering 79 off 45 balls, while Shafali Verma contributed 48 off 29 balls. Richa Ghosh provided a late flourish, smashing an unbeaten 49 from just 22 deliveries.
Mandhana and Shafali gave India a flying start with a 99-run opening partnership. Mandhana’s innings also saw her become the first woman to reach 11,000 runs in international cricket.
Sri Lanka struggled throughout the chase and were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs. Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Sree Charani claimed two wickets each as India’s bowlers completed a comprehensive victory.
The triumph gives India its first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and takes the country’s medal tally to seven at the ongoing Games. The women’s cricket team’s back-to-back titles also make India one of the nations with two Asian Games cricket gold medals.