Asian Games 2023: The Indian Women's Cricket team wins the Gold Medal after defeating Sri Lanka in the Final by 19 runs

It's the second gold medal of the day for India as the Women's Cricket Team defeated Sri Lanka in the Final by 19 runs. it is the first-ever gold medal in cricket at the Asian Games. India Women successfully defended 116 runs to secure the historic gold medal in cricket. Oshadi Ranasinghe kept Sri Lanka alive in the chase but it wasn't enough. Titas Sadhu provided a dream start with the ball to India women, picking up three wickets in two overs and finishing with astonishing figures of 3/6 from 4 overs. Earlier Mandhana missed out on her 23rd T20I half-century by just 4 runs as India's promising start couldn't lead them to a big total. But India's brilliant bowling separated the teams with led to a historic victory in the Asian Games 2023.

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Asian Games 2023: India Women vs Sri Lanka Women - Match Report

India Women: 116/7 | Smriti Mandhana - 46(45)

Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss for India and chose to bat first in the final. Opener Shafali Varma was the first to lose a wicket as Sugandika Kumari picked up her first wicket of the day. Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues then constructed a crucial 73-run stand to get India back in the game. However, Mandhana fell short of completing her 23rd T20I half-century, being dismissed by Inoka Ranaweera after scoring 46 runs off 45 balls. She smashed five boundaries and a huge six.

Rodrigues scored 42 runs off 40 deliveries but was not supported by her teammates as wickets kept falling on the other end. Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet, Pooja Vastrakar, and Amanjot Kaur came and went without adding much to the scoreboard.

From 102 for 3 after 16.4 overs, India managed to post only 116 for 7 on the scoreboard after 20 overs. Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, and Ranaweera were the best for Sri Lanka, claiming two wickets each.

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Sri Lanka: 97/8 | Titas Sadhu: 4-6-3

India started the second innings on the front foot, picking up three early wickets. Titas Sadhu struck with the new ball by dismissing both openers Chamari Athapaththu and Anushka Sanjeewani. She also cleaned up Vishmi Gunaratne, leaving Sri Lanka in shock at 14 for 3 in 4.2 overs.

However, Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva formed a 36-run stand to bring Sri Lanka back into the game. Perera scored 25 runs off 22 balls before being dismissed by Rajeshwari Gayakwad. De Silva was the next to fall as Vastrakar sent her to the dugout after scoring 23 runs off 34 deliveries.

Oshadi Ranasinghe was the next to lose a wicket as India upped the tempo with some brilliant bowling from Deepti Sharma and Devika Vaidya. Sri Lanka could only manage to sum up 97 after losing 8 on the board after 20 overs, falling short by 19 runs. Sadhu was the best bowler for India, claiming three wickets while giving away just six runs in four overs. With this, India won their second gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games 2023.

"They won a Gold Medal in their first Asian Games. a proud moment for cricket fans." 💙🇮🇳

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— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) September 25, 2023