NAGOYA, Japan : India secured their first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday after the women’s cricket team crushed Sri Lanka by 147 runs to retain their Twenty20 title in dominant fashion.
Batting first in a rematch of the Hangzhou final, India posted 216-3 at the Korogi Sports Park, with openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma providing the platform for a commanding total.
Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 69 in less than 16 overs as India completed a comprehensive victory.
“It was good to see Smriti and Shafali give us a big start again, and in between all the partnerships, they were very crucial,” India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.
“Our batters have been outstanding in the last two tournaments — Asia Cup and Asian Games — and they’ve been taking responsibility and giving us breakthroughs.”
“We’re really happy that we have opened the gate now, and hopefully we’ll see many more golds coming up for India.”
Mandhana struck 79 from 45 balls while Verma made 48 as the pair raced to a 99-run opening partnership.
Verma fell attempting a reverse shot before reaching her half-century, but Mandhana continued to dominate the Sri Lankan attack with a series of drives and pulls.
The left-hander, who became the first woman batter to reach 11,000 international runs, appeared on course for a century before holing out at deep backward square while attempting her eighth six.
Richa Ghosh then provided a late surge, smashing an unbeaten 49 from 22 balls to take India beyond 200.
Verma also made an impact with the ball, claiming two wickets in consecutive overs with her off-spin to remove Imesha Dulani and Hasini Perera.
Sri Lanka’s hopes rested on captain Chamari Athapaththu, but the opener’s 27-run innings ended when she miscued Deepti Sharma’s delivery.
Sri Lanka’s innings subsequently folded for 69 as India completed their successful title defence.
Pakistan earlier defeated Bangladesh by 31 runs to claim the bronze medal.
