Indian Women's cricket team clinches maiden Asian Games gold with historic win against Sri Lanka
The Women in Blue defeated their neighbours by 19 runs on Monday in a low-scoring game to end up on the top step of the podium in their debut cricket appearance at the marquee event. This victory marked India's second gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China.
Upon winning the toss, India chose to bat first. Despite losing opener Shafali Verma early, Smriti Mandhana (46 off 45 balls) and Jemimah Rodrigues (42 off 40 balls) laid a solid foundation for the innings, forging a crucial 73-run partnership. However, the team suffered a collapse after Mandhana's dismissal, managing to add only 16 runs to the total in their final four overs to conclude on 116/7.
In the second innings, India's Titas Sadhu dealt a significant blow to Sri Lanka's run chase early on with a double-wicket maiden in her first over. She later dismissed the Sri Lankan captain, Chamari Athapaththu, for a run-a-ball 12 to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 15/3 at the end five overs. Although Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva attempted to revive Sri Lanka's innings with a 36-run partnership, Rajeshwari Gayakwad struck in time to pave the way for a comfortable victory. Eventually, the islanders could only muster a score of 97/8 in 20 overs, resulting in a historic 19-run win for India in the Asian Games final.
Cricket was previously held at the 2010 and 2014 editions of the Asia Games edition but India declined participation, with Pakistan bagging the gold on both occasions in the women’s section. The men’s team are set to make their debut in the tournament as well, having been directly seeded into the quarter-final slated to take place on October 3 against a qualifier nation.
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