Asian Games 2026: India Women Thrash Sri Lanka by 147 Runs to Win Cricket Gold
India Women retained their Asian Games cricket title with a 147-run win over Sri Lanka in Nisshin. Smriti Mandhana hit 79 as India made 216/3 before Sri Lanka were bowled out for 69.
NISSHIN / NEW DELHI, September 22, 2026: India's women's cricket team won its second successive Asian Games gold medal on Tuesday, September 22, with a dominant 147-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur's side chose to bat first and piled up 216 for three in 20 overs, the highest total recorded in Asian Games women's cricket. Sri Lanka's chase never gathered momentum and ended at 69 all out in 15.4 overs.
The result gave India its first gold medal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and successfully defended the women's cricket title won against the same opponents at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Smriti Mandhana led India's batting with 79 from 45 balls, Shafali Verma contributed 48 from 29 and Richa Ghosh supplied a powerful finish with an unbeaten 49 from 22 deliveries.
Shafali then added two wickets with the ball, while Deepti Sharma returned outstanding figures of 3 for 6 as India's spinners dismantled Sri Lanka's batting order.
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Key Takeaways
India Women beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win Asian Games gold.
India scored 216/3 — the highest total in Asian Games women’s cricket.
Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 79; Richa Ghosh hit 49 not out.
Sri Lanka bowled out for 69 in 15.4 overs.
India’s first gold of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Second successive Asian Games women’s cricket title.
India vs Sri Lanka Asian Games Final: Score Summary
Team
Score
India Women
216/3 in 20 overs
Sri Lanka Women
69 all out in 15.4 overs
Result
India won by 147 runs
Medal
India — Gold; Sri Lanka — Silver
Venue
Korogi Sports Park, Nisshin, Japan
India's 216/3 set Sri Lanka a target of 217, but the chase effectively collapsed once India's spin attack began taking regular wickets.
Smriti Mandhana Sets Up India’s Record Total
India won the toss and immediately chose an aggressive approach with Mandhana and Shafali opening the batting.
The pair put Sri Lanka under pressure from the first six overs and built a 99-run opening partnership.
Mandhana reached her half-century in 30 balls and continued attacking after the powerplay. She eventually made 79 from 45 deliveries, hitting five fours and seven sixes.
Shafali was equally important at the other end.
She struck 48 from 29 balls with three fours and three sixes before Chamudi Praboda ended the opening partnership with the score on 99.
The platform meant India could keep attacking rather than rebuilding after the first wicket.
Mandhana Reaches 11,000 International Runs
The final also brought a major individual milestone for Mandhana.
During her innings, she became the first woman reported to have reached 11,000 runs across international cricket, adding another career landmark while playing in a gold-medal match.
The achievement came shortly after she moved past former India captain Mithali Raj as India's leading international run-scorer across formats.
More importantly for the final itself, Mandhana's innings gave India the foundation for a total that proved far beyond Sri Lanka.
Harmanpreet and Mandhana Keep India Moving
After Shafali's dismissal, Harmanpreet joined Mandhana and ensured India did not lose momentum completely.
The pair added 42 runs before Harmanpreet departed for 19 from 17 balls.
Mandhana followed after making 79, leaving India three wickets down and giving Sri Lanka an opportunity to restrict the final total.
Instead, Richa Ghosh dramatically accelerated the innings.
Richa Ghosh Smashes Unbeaten 49 from 22 Balls
Ghosh produced the final acceleration India needed, striking 49 not out from only 22 deliveries.
Her innings contained six fours and three sixes and came at a strike rate above 220.
Bharti Fulmali remained unbeaten on seven, while Sri Lanka conceded 14 extras, including 13 wides.
India finished on 216/3 at 10.8 runs per over.
The total was the highest in the history of the Asian Games women's cricket competition.
That left Sri Lanka requiring an extraordinary 217 runs for gold.
Sri Lanka’s Chase Collapses Early
Sri Lanka needed a fast start to have any realistic chance of chasing such a large target.
Instead, India immediately created pressure with the ball.
Shafali, already one of India's leading batters in the match, removed Imesha Dulani for three and Hasini Perera for a duck.
Sri Lanka slipped to 30/2 and soon lost the wicket that mattered most.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka's biggest batting threat, made 29 from 21 balls before Deepti Sharma dismissed her.
With Athapaththu gone, the required run rate was already extremely high and Sri Lanka no longer had a settled batter capable of driving the chase.
Deepti Sharma Leads India’s Spin Attack
Deepti produced another high-quality performance in a major match.
Her final figures were 3 wickets for just 6 runs from four overs, including a maiden.
Shafali finished with two wickets for three runs, while Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also took two wickets each as Sri Lanka's middle and lower order disappeared rapidly.
Sri Lanka fell from 30/2 to 49/6 before eventually being dismissed for 69.
Only Athapaththu, with 29, and Kaushini Nuthyangana, with 14, provided even brief resistance.
No partnership came close to threatening India's total.
India Win by 147 Runs
Sri Lanka's innings ended after just 15.4 overs, completing a 147-run victory for India.
The margin was not merely comfortable; it reflected India's control of both innings.
India had:
the highest individual scorer in the match through Mandhana;
a 99-run opening partnership;
a record team total;
powerful late hitting from Ghosh;
early wickets from Shafali;
and a dominant spin performance led by Deepti.
The 147-run margin was also reported as India's biggest victory by runs in women's T20 internationals.
India Retain Asian Games Women’s Cricket Gold
This was India's second appearance in an Asian Games women's cricket gold-medal match and its second title.
Women's cricket returned to the Asian Games programme at Hangzhou, where the postponed 2022 Games were held in 2023.
India and Sri Lanka also contested that final.
India won the Hangzhou title and entered the Aichi-Nagoya tournament as defending champions.
Tuesday's result means India have now beaten Sri Lanka in consecutive Asian Games women's cricket finals.
The teams also met in the Women's Asia Cup final earlier this month, where India again emerged victorious.
That makes the Asian Games triumph another significant result in India's recent run of success against one of its principal Asian rivals.
India’s Route to the Gold Medal
India entered the Asian Games tournament as one of the favourites and received direct entry into the knockout stages.
In the quarter-final, India defeated hosts Japan by eight wickets.
The semi-final against Bangladesh was even more convincing, with India winning by 114 runs after Shafali produced a century.
That set up another India-Sri Lanka final.
Sri Lanka had reached the gold-medal match after beating Malaysia by 86 runs in the quarter-finals and Pakistan by eight wickets in the semi-final.
The final, however, proved significantly more one-sided than either team's previous knockout matches.
India’s Asian Games 2026 Women’s Cricket Results
Stage
Opponent
Result
Quarter-final
Japan
India won by 8 wickets
Semi-final
Bangladesh
India won by 114 runs
Final
Sri Lanka
India won by 147 runs
Final medal
—
Gold
India therefore completed the competition unbeaten.
After the final, Harmanpreet said the team had discussed maintaining an unbeaten run and playing to the standards it had set for itself before the tournament.
First Gold for India at Aichi-Nagoya 2026
The victory also mattered beyond cricket.
India entered Tuesday with silver and bronze medals already on its tally but had yet to win gold at the 2026 Games.
The women's cricket team changed that.
Its victory over Sri Lanka became India's first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
That makes the cricket result likely to remain one of India's most prominent early moments of the Games even as competition continues across dozens of other sports.
Pakistan Win Women’s Cricket Bronze
Pakistan secured the bronze medal earlier on Tuesday by defeating Bangladesh by 31 runs in the third-place match.
That completed the women's cricket podium:
India — Gold
Sri Lanka — Silver
Pakistan — Bronze
India and Sri Lanka therefore repeated their gold-and-silver finishes from the previous Asian Games.
What the Victory Says About India’s Batting Depth
The final underlined how difficult India's batting lineup can be to contain when its top order establishes an early platform.
Mandhana and Shafali provided the first phase.
Harmanpreet maintained the innings through the middle.
Ghosh then supplied the finishing power.
Even with Harmanpreet making only 19 and India losing three wickets, the side still reached 216.
That depth makes it difficult for opposing teams to concentrate on stopping only one batter.
Sri Lanka's bowlers also struggled with discipline, sending down 13 wides, which added to the pressure created by India's boundary hitting.
Shafali Delivers with Bat and Ball
Shafali's performance deserves particular attention because her contribution did not end with the opening partnership.
She made 48 at a strike rate above 165 and then provided two early wickets for only three runs.
That all-round impact ensured Sri Lanka could not settle into the chase.
Combined with her century against Bangladesh in the semi-final, it capped a highly influential knockout phase for the Indian opener.
What’s Next for India at Asian Games Cricket?
The women's competition is now complete, but India's men's cricket campaign is still to come.
India's men's side has direct entry into the quarter-finals and is scheduled to begin its campaign on September 28.
The men's medal matches are scheduled for October 3.
India are also defending champions in men's cricket, meaning the country retains the possibility of winning both Asian Games cricket gold medals for a second successive edition.
For the women's team, however, the job is already complete.
A record 216/3, a 147-run final victory and a second successive gold made India's title defence emphatic rather than merely successful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the India vs Sri Lanka women's Asian Games 2026 cricket final?
India defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs to win the women's cricket gold medal.
What was India's score in the Asian Games final?
India scored 216/3 in 20 overs, the highest total in Asian Games women's cricket history.
How many runs did Smriti Mandhana score?
Mandhana top-scored with 79 from 45 balls, including five fours and seven sixes.
What did Richa Ghosh score?
Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 49 from 22 balls with six fours and three sixes.
Who took the most wickets for India?
Deepti Sharma took 3/6 from four overs. Shafali Verma, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also made important wicket-taking contributions.
Is this India's first Asian Games women's cricket gold?
No. India also won the women's cricket gold at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou. The 2026 victory is India's second successive title.
Bottom Line
India Women retained their Asian Games cricket title with a dominant 147-run win over Sri Lanka in Nisshin.
Smriti Mandhana hit 79 as India made a record 216/3 before Sri Lanka were bowled out for 69. The victory also delivered India’s first gold medal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Key Takeaway
India Women win Asian Games cricket gold by 147 runs.
The Rajatheertha Team publishes news, explainers, guides and updates across India and the world. Our coverage follows Rajatheertha's editorial, verification and corrections standards.
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