Sri Lanka have secured the silver medal in the women’s T20 cricket competition at the Asian Games, with India taking the gold medal after a commanding victory in the final in Japan.
The final was played at the Karogi Stadium in Japan. After winning the toss, India elected to bat first and posted a massive 216/3 in 20 overs.
Smriti Mandhana top-scored for India with a brilliant 79 off 45 balls, smashing five fours and seven sixes. Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 49, while Shafali Verma contributed 48.
Chasing a daunting target of 217, Sri Lanka opened with Chamari Athapaththu and Imesha Dulani. However, Imesha was dismissed for three after the opening partnership reached 18.
Hasini Perera was unable to add to the score, while captain Chamari Athapaththu made 22.
Sri Lanka’s batting line-up struggled against India’s attack and were bowled out for just 69 in 15.4 overs, handing India a massive 147-run victory.
Deepti Sharma led the Indian bowling attack with three wickets, while Shafali Verma, Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani claimed two wickets each.
Despite the defeat in the final, the silver medal is Sri Lanka’s first medal at the 20th Asian Games.
