India won the women’s T20 cricket gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final on September 22. The victory gave India its second Asian Games gold in women’s cricket after the team also won the event at Hangzhou in 2023.
Batting first after winning the toss, India scored 216 for three in 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana led the innings with 79 runs from 45 deliveries, while Shafali Verma scored 48. Richa Ghosh finished unbeaten on 49 from 22 balls to take India past the 200-run mark.
Mandhana and Verma put on 99 runs for the opening wicket. Mandhana’s innings also took her past 11,000 runs in international women’s cricket, making her the first Indian woman to reach the mark.
Sri Lanka struggled during the chase and were bowled out for 69 in under 16 overs. Chamari Athapaththu was their top scorer with 29 from 21 deliveries. India’s bowlers continued to take wickets throughout the innings, leaving Sri Lanka well short of the target.
The result marked India’s first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games. The team had reached the final after defeating Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semi-final, while Sri Lanka secured its place in the title match by beating Pakistan.
India’s victory also made the team the first side to win two Asian Games women’s cricket titles since the sport was introduced at the Games. The women’s T20 competition featured eight teams at the Aichi-Nagoya edition.
