“So many knockout heartbreaks and finally we have gold” – Fans react as India Women beat Sri Lanka to be crowned Asian Games champions
India Women beat Sri Lanka Women by 19 runs to win gold at the Asian Games 2023 final, played at the Pinfeng Cricket field in Hangzhou, China, on Monday, September 25.
Batting first, India scored 116/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues starred with the bat. Mandhana scored 46 off 45 balls, including one six and four boundaries.
Rodrigues, on the other hand, hit 42 runs off 40 deliveries, including five boundaries. Together, the duo shared a 73-run partnership for the second wicket.
For Sri Lanka, Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari and Inoka Ranaweera scalped two wickets apiece.
In response, India Women restricted Sri Lanka to 97/8 in 20 overs. Titas Sadhu starred with the ball, finishing with figures of 3/6, while Rajeshwari Gayakwad scalped two wickets. Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, and Devika Vaidya picked up one wicket apiece.
Hasini Perera top-scored for Lanka, with 25 off 22, while Nilakshini de Silva and Oshadi Ranasinghe chipped in with 23 (34) and 19 (26), respectively.
India Women previously beat Bangladesh Women by eight wickets, courtesy of Pooja Vastrakar’s four-fer to reach the Asian Games final.
Fans on X (formerly known as Twitter) were delighted with India Women winning gold in the Asian Games 2023 final. One user wrote:
"First gold for Women's Cricket in India. So many knockout heartbreaks and finally, finally we have GOLD. Jai Hind!"
Here are some of the other best reactions:
India Women had previously won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last year. They lost to Australia by nine runs in the final.
India Women's winning squad - Asian Games 2023
Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Amanjot Kaur, Devika Vaidya, Titas Sadhu, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Minnu Mani, Kanika Ahuja, Uma Chetry (wk), Anusha Bareddy and Pooja Vastrakar.
Standby list of players: Harleen Deol, Kashvee Gautam, Sneh Rana and Saika Ishaque.
Ruturaj Gaikwad to lead India men's team in Asian Games 2023
Ruturaj Gaikwad is set to lead India's men's team in the Asian Games 2023. They will begin their campaign in the quarterfinals in Hangzhou on October 3. The men's team will look to repeat the women's team achievements in the tournament.
Team India (Senior Men) squad for 19th Asian Games: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Shivam Dube, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Akash Deep.
Standby list of players: Yash Thakur, Sai Kishore, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sai Sudarsan.