The Indian Women’s cricket team successfully defended a total of 116 runs to secure a historic gold medal by defeating the Sri Lankan Women’s team by a margin of 19 runs. Oshadi Ranasinghe of Sri Lanka showed great determination during their chase, but her dismissal put Sri Lanka under pressure, and they eventually finished with a total of 97.8 runs. Titas Sadhu delivered an exceptional performance with the ball for the Indian women, claiming three wickets in just two overs and finishing with remarkable figures of 3/6 from her four overs. At a precarious score of 14/3, Sri Lanka’s women’s team found hope in a 36-run partnership between Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva. However, Rajeshwari Gayakwad of India provided the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Perera. India then tightened their grip on the match in the final five overs, maintaining their composure to secure India’s first-ever gold medal in cricket.
In the Asian Games 2023 final between India Women and Sri Lanka Women, the Indian women’s team emerged victorious, proudly displaying their gold medals on the podium.
India Women faced a batting collapse, managing to post a total of 116/7 against Sri Lanka Women in the cricket gold medal final. After a solid start at 89/1, the team lost six wickets for just 27 runs in the last five overs. Although the pitch did not favor batsmen, the Indian women’s team should have aimed for a higher total. Batting proved to be a challenge on this pitch, but Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues demonstrated remarkable resilience against the Sri Lankan spinners, forming a strong partnership that added 73 runs for the second wicket.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, along with Shafali Varma and Mandhana, found early boundaries, but Shafali was soon dismissed by being stumped. Despite a promising partnership, Mandhana fell just four runs short of her fifty, and Sri Lanka took quick wickets, including that of Richa Ghosh. From that point, the Indian women’s team faced a rapid decline, with the wickets of Harmanpreet, Pooja Vastrakar, Rodrigues, and Amanjot Kaur falling in quick succession.
