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That's it from this historic game, folks! Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did. Keep following Sportskeeda; don't shy away from telling us how we can improve. Have a good rest of your day. It's a goodbye for now from Rudransh and Soorya!
India have proved, once again, they are the best team in Asia. They were always expected to win here but the way they have done it would boost their confidence to another level. Playing spin with aplomb, managing pressure, managing expectations. This team keeps taking big strides. Hopefully, this is just a start of something even more special. For now, even if there's one kid out there anywhere in the continent who watched that medal ceremony and said, "I also want to be there, take a bite at that gold", they have done their job.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have moved out for their individual photos. Indian players are still standing on the podium and have called members of the support staff to stand with them and give them their flowers (literally) too. A wholesome moment, capping off a tournament that would have given them a thousand memories. Now the Indian flag is up and photos for tomorrow's newspapers and today's articles on Sportskeeda are being clicked.
The cricketers would have loved it. They are at the centre of the achievement, getting individual prizes, no sponsored presentations, no press conferences; just them and their much deserved prize.
The tricolor will fly high as the Indian national anthem is now being played out.
And last but not the least, the gold medalists - India. The sight of Harmanpreet Kaur in tears on the back of a heartbreaking defeat to Australia in the final of the Commonwealth Games last year remains a painful one for Indian cricket fans till date. It's all smiles today though and this achievement is bound to ease those ghosts to a decent extent. A professional display with the ball throughout the tournament with a largely good performance with the bat too in difficult conditions. The experienced lot continues to shine while young blood continues to makes its way up the ranks (read Titas Sadhu). Things are looking bright and how for the Women in Blue!
Next up are the silver medalists - Sri Lanka. So close, yet so far for Chamari Athapaththu's team. But didn't they put up a fight or what! Having defeated England in their own backyard last month, they've continued to take rapid strides in their development and by no means should this achievement today not be looked at as another feather in their cap. A team that certainly has plenty of talent and panache brimming within their ranks and one which will have the attention of the cricketing world on them for a long, long time.
First up, the bronze medalists - Bangladesh. Nigar Sultana and Co. have taken giant strides in the sport in recent times having debuted at the ODI World Cup last year before holding India to a 1-1 series draw at home a couple of months ago. They've been runners-up in the last two editions of the Asian Games cricket event in 2010 and 2014 and while they couldn't make it to the summit clash this time around, they turned in a superb show today to defeat Pakistan in the bronze medal clash. A team that is certainly on the rise alright!
Time for the medals ceremony! The Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi players stride out and take their positions by the massive podium.
THAT'S IT! INDIA WIN THE GOLD! The girls have done India proud. This is a young team, not to forget and each member has stood out at different moments in this tournament and especially in this final for a fantastic achievement! There are no big celebrations. Just the customary handshakes and a few fist pumps. That's how clinical they were even in the moments of extreme pressure. History in style, on 25/09/2023.
A brilliant, brilliant display from Harmpreet Kaur's team. They have put up a performance that they can be proud of for a long, long time. Cricket has shone in the Asian Games and they have inspired more girls back home to take up the sport and do what Mandhana and Titas did today.
Chasing an under-par score (even in hindsight) Sri Lankan captain Athapaththu threated to take the game away from the very first over by scoring 12 against Deepti Sharma. Unlike Sri Lanka though, India trusted their pacers to do the job on this turning track. Vastrakar shook things up in the over by getting the ball to nip around and bounce a bit awkwardly.
The batters were pushed behind and, doubtful, didn't move their feet much against Titas. The young pacer bolwed fuller and moved the ball both ways to run havoc. Two wickets in her first over put Athapaththu on the backfoot and she mis-timed one in Titas' second too.
Sri Lanka didn't go down without a fight though. Perera and de Silva hit a few boundaries agains the turn of India's spinners. The ball was gripping but they used their feet and sweeps exceptionally well in their 36-run stand. However, Gayakwad was unfazed by the big hits and got the former out.
Ranasinghe tried to offer support to de Silva but as the ball got old, the big shots got more and more difficult to come by. Vastrakar returned to bowl at the death and got de Silva out with a peach of a yorker. Sri Lanka's lower order hung around as the run-rate climbed but didn't have enough in their bats to make India break a sweat.
This is India's second gold for India in this Asian Games and the first-ever in cricket. Onto Ruturaj Gaikwad's team now!
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Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field, Hangzhou
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