Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who returned to the playing 11 after serving a 2-game ban, won the toss and elected to bat. India got off to a dodgy start as they lost opener Shafali Verma in the 4th over, with the score being just 16. India’s number 3, Jemimah Rodrigues joined the center of the pitch to accompany Smriti Mandhana. Both stitched together a fine partnership of 73 runs from 66 balls. Smriti got dismissed on 46 while Jemi got out on 42. These two knocks powered India to a respectable total of 116. Udeshika Prabodhani, Sugandika Kumari, and Inoka Ranaweera picked 2 wickets each for Sri Lanka.
While defending the total, India got a perfect start as teen sensation Titas Sadhu, who was playing her 2nd international match, got rid of Sri Lanka’s top 3 in just 8 balls. She dismissed Anushka Sanjeewani, Vishmi Gunaratne, and Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu. Hasini Perera and Nilakshi de Silva offered some resistance to the threatening Indian bowling lineup before the former perished on the bowling of Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Oshadi Ranasinghe joined hands with Nilakshi in the middle, as they shared a decent partnership of 28 runs. But it was not enough for the Lankan team, as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The Lankan side managed to score just 97 runs, eventually losing by a margin of 19 runs. Titas Sadhu (3), Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2), Deepti Sharma (1), Devika Vaidya (1), and Pooja Vastrakar (1) were the bowlers who made it on the wickets list.
Commending the women’s team’s outstanding efforts, a wave of congratulatory messages poured in for the Indian team. Here are a few Tweets capturing the nation’s jubilation over this golden victory.
Tweets Celebrating Gold Medal for Indian Women’s Cricket Team at the Asian Games 2023
Congratulations, @BCCIWomen, for clinching the first-ever gold medal 🥇 in cricket for our nation! A historic feat achieved with a superb all-round performance. Well played, girls. 🇮🇳#INDvSL #IndiaAtAG22 pic.twitter.com/HJ1Rjhhz8q
— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) September 25, 2023
Golden Glory! 🏅🏏
Our Women's Cricket Team creates history at Asian Games 2023. #TitasSadhu’s bowling brilliance and @mandhana_smriti & @JemiRodrigues phenomenal batting shines brighter than ever. Congratulations girls ✨🇮🇳#IndiaAtAsianGames2023 #IndianWomen #Cricket pic.twitter.com/SPf2iem8nf
— Jhulan Goswami (@JhulanG10) September 25, 2023
Congratulations to our Women's Cricket Team for their extraordinary gold medal win at the #AsianGames! 🇮🇳🥇 pic.twitter.com/yb9xUcuNrm
— Venkatesh Daggubati (@VenkyMama) September 25, 2023
The tricolour is shining bright as gold 🥇🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/wqtWgUsW5w
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) September 25, 2023
Huge congratulations to the Indian Women's Cricket Team for their phenomenal triumph at the Asian Games! 🙌🏏Your dedication and teamwork have brought home the GOLD 🥇 and made the nation proud! Keep Shining! 🇮🇳💪#AsianGames2023 #INDvSL
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) September 25, 2023
Indian women's cricket team wins Gold at the #AsianGames with a dominant win over Sri Lanka, led by 18-year-old sensation #TitasSadhu's bowling brilliance (3 for 6). Congratulations to the team and support staff for this historic achievement! 🇮🇳 @BCCIWomen pic.twitter.com/md78olzIxS
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 25, 2023
Loves all things female cricket