Indian women's team claim historic gold at the 2023 Asian Games after 19-run win over Sri Lanka in the final
India secured the gold medal at the Women's Cricket event at the ongoing 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday. The Indians defeated Sri Lanka in the final to claim the top prize after overcoming Bangladesh and Malaysia in the earlier rounds.
Harmanpreet Kaur returned back into the playing XI as well as in a leadership capacity in the summit clash after serving a three-match ban. The skipper was issued the punishment after smashing the stumps in anger and for her comments on the match officials following the third ODI against Bangladesh on July 22.
Coming back to the final, India won the toss and opted to bat first at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket field and lost Shafali Varma in the fourth over. Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues stitched up a partnership for the second wicket to give India a solid platform.
Both batters perished in their 40s as Sri Lankan bowlers kept chipping away with wickets at the back end of the innings. From 89-1, the Women in Blue collapsed to 116-7 to conclude the innings.
Sri Lanka struggled against Team India during the run chase
In reply, Sri Lanka also found it tough to get going on the slow and sluggish wicket that offered turn to the spinners. They found themselves at 14-3 in the fifth over, with ace batter and skipper Chamari Athapaththu departing for a run-a-ball 12-run knock. Titas Sadhu, 18, was the chief architect behind Sri Lanka's early collapse during the run chase. She ended with brilliant figures of 4-1-6-3.
The Lankans tried to restore their innings with a small partnership for the fourth wicket, but the required rate kept climbing up. Indian bowlers kept the pressure on with dot balls, and when Sri Lanka tried to up the ante, they proceeded to lose wickets. They could only end up with 97-8 and finished as runners-up in the event.
The emphatic win comes at the right time for the Indian women's team, who are clearly on the rise. It also quietens the demons from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where the Women in Blue narrowly missed out on the chance to win a gold medal and had to settle for silver instead.
Will the Indian men's team be able to replicate the women's team's gold medal efforts in Hangzhou in a few days' time? Let us know what you think.