India wins first Asian Games gold: Harmanpreet Kaur's team beat Sri Lanka by 147 runs

Nisshin (Japan): India clinched their first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games after defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the women's cricket final on Tuesday.

The victory also saw Harmanpreet Kaur's side successfully defend the women's cricket title India won at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Mandhana, Ghosh power India to 216

Opting to bat first, India posted 216 for three in 20 overs, their highest-ever total in women's cricket at the Asian Games.

Smriti Mandhana led the charge with a superb 79 off 45 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes. Shafali Verma added 48 off 29 balls, while Richa Ghosh provided a late burst with an unbeaten 49 off just 22 deliveries.

Mandhana's innings also took her past 11,000 international runs, making her the first woman to reach the milestone.

Sri Lanka bowled out for 69

Sri Lanka struggled against India's spin-heavy attack and were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs.

Deepti Sharma was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for six runs, while Shree Charani, Shafali Verma and Shreyanka Patil took two wickets each.

Chamari Athapaththu top-scored for Sri Lanka with 29, but the rest of the batting line-up failed to mount a challenge as India wrapped up a 147-run victory.

India retain Asian Games title

The gold is India's first medal of the 2026 Asian Games and continues their run of success in women's cricket. India had won gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where women's cricket made its Asian Games return.

India had entered the final after beating Bangladesh by 114 runs in the semi-final, while Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by eight wickets to set up the title clash.