Asian Games 2026: India Clinches 1st Gold as Women's Cricket Team Defeats Sri Lanka in a T20I Final

Harmanpreet Kaur-led India won their first Asian Games 2026 gold medal, beating Sri Lanka by 147 runs after posting 216/3. Indian spinners bowled Sri Lanka out for 69, making India the first women's cricket team to defend its continental title again.

Indian women's cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, has added its first gold to the country's medal tally in the ongoing Asian Games 2026. India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Tuesday, September 22.

After posting a total of 216/3 in 20 overs, India bundled out Sri Lanka for 69 in 15.4 overs, successfully defending their gold medal, which they won in the 2023 edition of the event under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Kaur. Deepti Sharma (3/6), Shafali Verma (2/3), Shreyanka Patil (2/9), and Shree Charani (2/13) dismantled Sri Lanka's batting line-up with their spin bowling brilliance.

With this, India women became the first cricket team to successfully defend their continental title and secure consecutive gold medals at the quadrennial multi-sport event.

Indian Batters Dismantle Sri Lanka's Bowling Attack

Team India batters laid the foundation for the historic total with an explosive opening partnership. The 99-run opening partnership between vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (79) and Shafali Verma (48) apparently put immense pressure on Sri Lanka bowlers, as the Women in Blue neared the100-run mark by the end of the10th over.

After Shafali's dismissal, Mandhana had a brief 42-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur before the latter's dismissal for 19 at 141/2. Then, Smriti Mandhana's stay at the crease came to an end after being dismissed at 163/3. India's vice-captain's dismissal might have brought some relief to Sri Lanka, but not until Richa Ghosh arrived at the crease.

Smriti Mandhana brings up a fluent 50* off just 30 balls to put India firmly in control of the Gold Medal match! 🥇

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Known for her explosiveness and destructive hitting power, the young wicketkeeper-batter wasted no time settling in, smashing an unbeaten 49 off 22 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes, at an impressive strike rate of 222.73. In her 53-run unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket with Bharati Fulmali (7), Richa scored 34 off 12 balls, dominating the strike to completely shut the door on any potential comeback from the bowling side.

𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐀 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐇 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐒 𝐔𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑! 💥

Big hits in the final overs as she provides the perfect finish to India’s innings against Sri Lanka! 🔥

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Team India raced from 163/3 in 16.5 overs to 216/3 in 20 overs, adding a blistering 53 runs off just 19 balls in the death overs to leave the Sri Lankan attack completely shell-shocked.

Sugandika Kumari (1/37), Kavisha Dilhari (1/35), and Chamudi Praboda (1/34) were the only wicket-takers for Sri Lanka on a punishing afternoon, though all three bore the brunt of India's relentless late-innings onslaught.

Sri Lanka Lacks Response to India's Spin Bowling Brilliance

Chasing a mammoth 217-run target, Sri Lanka had a modest start to their run chase, crawling to 43/3 in 6.5 overs. However, things have begun to unravel as the spin web tightened further, leaving the batting side completely helpless against relentless pressure and accurate bowling.

From 43/3, Sri Lanka witnessed a dramatic batting collapse, losing seven wickets in just 26 runs, to be bundled out for 69 in 15.4 overs. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu offered some lone resistance with a brisk 29 off 21 balls. After she was dismissed by Deepti Sharma, Sri Lanka completely lost its grip on the match.

Chamari Athapaththu goes after the wide delivery, miscues it - and India have their big wicket. 🏏 

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Alongside Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Shree Charani, and part-time spinner Shafali Verma strangled the remaining batters with immaculate control, completing a historic rout and unforgettably sealing the gold.

After making an impact with the bat, Shafali Verma strikes with the ball in the Powerplay to break Sri Lanka’s opening stand in the Gold Medal Final! 🙌

Watch Sri Lanka vs India, in the Women's Cricket Final at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya, LIVE NOW on Sony Sports Network… pic.twitter.com/vTxWKlLn7S

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 22, 2026

Earlier this month, Team India and Sri Lanka faced off in the Women's Asia Cup 2026 Final in Dubai, where India secured a comfortable 72-run victory to lift the continental trophy. Almost two weeks later, the Women in Blue put on an even more dominant performance in Nisshin to claim the Asian Games gold in style.