India opened its gold-medal account at the 2026 Asian Games in spectacular fashion, with the women’s cricket team defeating Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the T20 final on Tuesday.

Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India produced a dominant all-round performance at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. After winning the toss and electing to bat, India posted a huge 216/3 in 20 overs before bowling Sri Lanka out for just 69 in 15.4 overs.

Mandhana leads India's batting charge

Opener Smriti Mandhana was the star with the bat, smashing 79 runs from 45 balls. She struck seven sixes and five fours as India got off to a flying start.Mandhana and Shafali Verma put together a 99-run opening partnership. Verma contributed a quick 48 off 29 balls, while Richa Ghosh provided a powerful finish with an unbeaten 49 from 22 deliveries.

India's 216/3 was reported as the highest women's total in Asian Games history.

Indian bowlers complete the job

Sri Lanka's chase never really got going.Deepti Sharma led the bowling attack with three wickets for just six runs from her four overs. Shafali Verma, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil also picked up two wickets each.Sri Lanka were eventually bowled out for 69, with captain Chamari Athapaththu the team's top scorer with 29.

India retain Asian Games cricket gold

The victory means India have successfully defended their women's T20 cricket title at the Asian Games. It also gives India its first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

India had won the women's cricket gold at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, where cricket returned to the programme.The victory also marked India's second Asian Games cricket gold, putting the country alongside Pakistan in the record for two cricket gold medals at the Games.

Mandhana reaches another milestone

The final was also special for Smriti Mandhana. During her innings, she became the first woman to reach 11,000 international runs in cricket, adding another landmark to an already remarkable career.

India now has one gold, four silver and two bronze medals in the 2026 Asian Games, according to the latest tally reported after the cricket final.