India’s women’s cricket team won the country’s first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games on September 22, defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan.
The India women’s cricket gold followed a dominant all-round performance. India made 216 for three after choosing to bat, before dismissing Sri Lanka for 69 in 15.4 overs. Reuters and The Indian Express both reported the 147-run victory and confirmed that India retained the title it won at the Hangzhou Games.
India women’s cricket gold built on record total
Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma gave India control with a 99-run partnership. Verma scored 48 before Mandhana accelerated to 79 from 45 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes.
Mandhana’s innings also took her past 11,000 runs in international cricket. Reuters reported that she became the first woman batter to reach that aggregate across international formats.
Richa Ghosh then ensured the strong start became a total above 200. Promoted in the batting order, she finished unbeaten on 49 from 22 deliveries as India reached 216 for three. The Indian Express described it as the highest women’s T20 international total recorded at the Asian Games.
Sri Lanka’s chase collapses
Sri Lanka needed 217 to win but lost wickets early. Verma contributed with her off-spin after her 48 with the bat, removing Imesha Dulani and Hasini Perera in consecutive overs.
Captain Chamari Athapaththu made 27, but her dismissal to Deepti Sharma further reduced Sri Lanka’s chances of recovering. The innings ended at 69, giving India a 147-run victory. The Indian Express said the margin surpassed India’s previous largest win in women’s T20 internationals, a 144-run victory over Malaysia in 2018.
The published English report from The Indian Express contains an internal inconsistency by listing Sri Lanka’s total as 67 in one passage, even though the stated 147-run margin from a target of 217 corresponds to 69. Reuters and a separate Indian Express-language report both give 69, so that figure is used here.
India retain the Asian Games title
Women’s cricket has appeared at the Asian Games since 2010, although India first entered the competition at Hangzhou. By winning again in Japan, India joined Pakistan as the only women’s teams to successfully defend the Asian Games cricket title.
The victory also extended India’s unbeaten sequence following its group-stage exit at the 2026 T20 World Cup. The team had won the Women’s Asia Cup before progressing through the Asian Games without a defeat.
India beat Thailand, Hong Kong and Pakistan in the group stage, then defeated Bangladesh in the semifinal. The final win over Sri Lanka opened India’s gold-medal account at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Pakistan took bronze after beating Bangladesh by 31 runs.
The men’s Indian cricket team is scheduled to begin its title defence in the quarterfinals on September 28.
