- By Manik Sharma
- Mon, 25 Sep 2023 02:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In the women's cricket final at the Asian Games 2023, the Indian team secured their maiden gold medal by beating Sri Lanka by a margin of 19 runs. India scored a total of 116/7 after 20 overs in the summit clash, while Sri Lanka after a shaky start only managed to get 97 runs in reply.
Jemimah Rodrigues played a significant role in India's innings, contributing 42 runs off 40 deliveries. However, the latter part of India's innings saw a struggle as they managed only 16 runs and lost four wickets in the final four overs.
Key contributions came from Smriti Mandhana, who scored 46 runs off 45 balls, and Jemimah Rodrigues with 42 runs off 40 balls. Sri Lanka's bowling attack was led by Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, and Inoka Ranaweera, who each claimed two wickets.
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During their innings, India opted to replace Deepti Sharma with pacer Titas Sadhu, who made an immediate impact by taking two wickets in her first over. She bowled with impressive figures, taking three wickets and conceding only six runs. Sadhu dismissed Anushka Sanjeewani with her very first delivery and later shattered Vishmi Gunaratne's stumps with a sharp in-swinger.
This gold medal victory marks a significant achievement for the Indian women's cricket team at the Asian Games 2023. Women's cricket was a part of the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014 but was excluded in Jakarta 2018. India's previous appearances in women's cricket at the Asian Games were marked by strong performances, and this year, they made a memorable return to the tournament.
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Earlier in the tournament, India progressed directly to the quarter-finals due to their high T20 world ranking. In the quarter-finals, their match against Malaysia was abandoned due to rain, but they advanced based on their superior seeding.
In the semi-finals, India, led by Smriti Mandhana, defeated Bangladesh convincingly by eight wickets, with pacer Pooja Vastrakar delivering an exceptional performance with a career-best spell of 4/17 to bundle out Bangladesh for just 51 runs.
Harmanpreet Kaur, who had been serving a two-match ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), returned to the team and took over the captaincy responsibilities from Smriti Mandhana in the final.
Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had previously featured in the women's cricket competition at the Asian Games in 2014 and won a bronze medal. This year, they upgraded their medal to silver by defeating Thailand in the quarter-finals by eight wickets and Pakistan in the semi-finals by six wickets.
In head-to-head encounters, India's women's cricket team has maintained a strong record against Sri Lanka in women's T20 Internationals, winning 19 out of the 24 matches played between the two teams.