India’s women’s cricket team delivered the country’s first gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Sri Lanka by a massive 147 runs in the women’s T20 final in Japan. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side produced a commanding all-round performance to retain the Asian Games women’s cricket title.
India posted 216/3 in 20 overs after choosing to bat first. Smriti Mandhana led the scoring with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, while Shafali Verma contributed 48. Richa Ghosh provided a powerful finish with an unbeaten 49 off 22 deliveries.
The Indian bowling attack then completed the job in emphatic fashion. Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 69 runs in 15.4 overs, giving India a 147-run victory. Deepti Sharma claimed three wickets, while Shafali Verma, Sree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also made important contributions with the ball.
The victory also marked India’s second consecutive Asian Games gold medal in women’s cricket, following the team’s triumph at the Hangzhou Games. India’s latest victory also opened the country’s gold-medal account at the ongoing Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Mandhana added another milestone during her innings by becoming the first woman cricketer to reach 11,000 international runs. Meanwhile, Shafali Verma finished the tournament as India’s leading run-scorer, while Sree Charani topped the team’s wicket-taking charts.
The result gives Indian women’s cricket another significant achievement on the Asian Games stage and provides India with its first gold of the 2026 edition.
India’s campaign featured several notable individual performances. Shafali Verma finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the tournament with 188 runs, while Sree Charani topped India’s wicket tally with eight wickets.
The final victory has given the Indian contingent an early boost at the Asian Games, while the women’s cricket team’s gold medal has become one of the opening highlights of India’s campaign in Aichi-Nagoya.