Team India clinched the gold medal in the Women’s Cricket event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday. They secured the first prize by defeating Sri Lanka in the final after victories over Bangladesh and Malaysia in the preceding rounds.
Harmanpreet Kaur made her comeback to the playing XI and also captained the team in this final clash after the ban of three matches. The captain had received the suspension for her actions which included smashing the stumps in frustration and making comments about the match officials after the third ODI against Bangladesh on July 22.
In the final match, India won the toss and chose to bat first at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket field. However, they lost Shafali Varma in the fourth over of the innings. After that Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues forged a partnership for the second wicket providing India with a strong foundation.
Mandhana and Rodrigues were dismissed in the 40s, and Sri Lankan bowlers continued to take wickets towards the latter part of the innings. Despite starting at 89-1, they ended their innings at 116-7.
Sri Lanka found it difficult to chase the target in front of spinners. They were struggling at 14-3 by the fifth over, with their star batter and captain Chamari Athapaththu getting out after a 12-run innings.
Team India and the people of India will be happier as this same team missed the gold during the Commonwealth Games 2022 and settled for a silver.
