India have won their first gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 after a dominant performance in the women’s cricket final. Harmanpreet Kaur-led India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to claim the gold medal, while Sri Lanka had to settle for silver. Pakistan had earlier defeated Bangladesh to win the bronze medal.
Batting first after winning the toss, India posted a huge total of 216/3. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave India a strong start, adding 99 runs for the opening wicket. Mandhana scored 79 runs from 45 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes, while Shafali contributed 48 off 29 balls with three fours and three sixes.
Mandhana also reached a major milestone by becoming the batter with the most T20 runs in a single calendar year. Harmanpreet Kaur added 19 runs before Richa Ghosh took charge of the innings. Richa smashed an unbeaten 49 from just 22 balls, including six fours and three sixes, helping India score 50 runs in the final three overs.
Sri Lanka struggled badly in the chase and were bowled out for just 69 runs. Captain Chamari Athapaththu was their top scorer with 29 runs, but received little support from the other batters.
India’s bowlers completely controlled the innings. Deepti Sharma took 3/6, while Shafali Verma picked up 2/3. Sree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also claimed two wickets each. With a massive 147-run victory, India secured the women’s cricket gold medal in impressive fashion.
