India's maiden gold at Asian Games 2026 comes from Harmanpreet Kaur & Co as Women in Blue defend cricket title
INDIA clinched its first gold medal of the Asian Games 2026 after the Harmanpreet Kaur-led women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final in Nisshin on Tuesday. Chasing a target of 217, Sri Lanka were all out for 69 in 15.4 overs.
India now has seven medals in total, including one gold, four silver and two bronze medals.
The Women in Blue thus retained the gold medal that they had won at the 2022 Asian Games, which was held in Hangzhou in 2023.
Having won the toss and opted to bat first, India posted a mammoth total of 216/3 on the board. Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was the standout batter with a knock of 79.
She and Shafali Verma (48) forged a 99-run partnership for the first wicket. And even though both the opening batters were dismissed in the latter half of India's innings, Richa Ghosh provided the final flourish with an unbeaten 49 from 22 deliveries.
Sri Lanka never looked settled in their run chase as they began losing wickets right from the start.
Shafali Verma struck twice in the powerplay, removing Imesha Dulani and Hasini Perera. Sri Lanka were 41/2 in the powerplay but lost wickets in almost every over from then on.
