Mandhana scored 46 runs off of 45 balls, slamming five boundaries and one six, but she was removed by Inoka Ranaweera before reaching her 23rd T20I half-century.
Digital Desk: The Indian women's cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the tournament's championship to take home the gold medal in the ongoing Asian Games 2023. With this, India won its second gold medal at the Asian Games 2023.
India's Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to bat first in the grand finale. The first victim was opener Shafali Varma, who left after Sugandika Kumari took her maiden wicket of the day. Then, to help India come back into the match, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues put together an important 73-run partnership.
Mandhana scored 46 runs off of 45 balls, slamming five boundaries and one six, but she was removed by Inoka Ranaweera before reaching her 23rd T20I half-century.
Although her teammates failed to help her as wickets continued falling around her, Rodrigues managed to score 42 runs off 40 deliveries. The scoreboard did not change significantly when Richa Ghosh, Harmanpreet, Pooja Vastrakar, and Amanjot Kaur came and got out.
After 16.4 overs, India was at 102 for 3, and after 20 overs, they were able to score 116 for 7. The top three Sri Lankan bowlers, who each took two wickets, were Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, and Ranaweera.
With the help of three early wickets, India made a strong start in the second innings. With the new ball, Titas Sadhu struck, removing Vishmi Gunaratne, Chamari Athapaththu, and both of their openers, Anushka Sanjeewani, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 14 for 3 after 4.2 overs.
However, a crucial 36-run stand between Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva allowed Sri Lanka to reenter the contest. Before being dismissed by Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Perera scored 25 runs off 22 balls. De Silva was the next to go down, being castled by Vastrakar after having scored 23 runs off of 34 deliveries.
The next victim was Oshadi Ranasinghe as India raised the stakes with some outstanding bowling from Deepti Sharma and Devika Vaidya. After 20 overs, Sri Lanka had completed their innings with 97 for 8, falling 19 runs short of their total.
Sadhu, who claimed three wickets and conceded six runs in four overs, was India's best bowler. India now holds the second gold medal they have ever won at the Asian Games 2023.
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