22 September,2026 04:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shafali Verma (Pic: X/@ICC)
In the Asian Games 2026 final, Indian women's cricket team secured a dominant victory by 147 runs against Sri Lanka at the Aichi Prefectural Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.
After the win, Team India's Shafali Verma said there is no better feeling for her than seeing the Indian flag fly high. She also said that her teammates will celebrate the win by having a team dinner.
"We play to ensure that our flag flies high. There is no bigger feeling than this. Our target was to see the national flag being raised and I am so happy...We will have a team dinner to celebrate with each other. We will celebrate with family after reaching home," she said.
The right-handed batswoman also extended best wishes to other athletes representing India in other sports in the ongoing continental event.
"We were closer to the Village last time, not this time so couldn't meet anyone but I wish all the athletes the best of luck," Verma said when asked about the experience," said Verma.
India's dominant triumph delivered the country's first gold medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Games, taking Team India's overall tally to seven medals.
Opting to bat first, India laid a foundation as openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma built a 99-run partnership. Mandhana reached her 37th T20I half-century while simultaneously becoming the first female cricketer to achieve 11,000 international runs.
Mandhana's knock ended at 79 off 45 balls, featuring five boundaries and seven maximums. Richa Ghosh then spearheaded a late-overs attack on Sri Lankan bowlers, smashing an unbeaten 49 off 22 deliveries. India finished on 216/3, setting the highest-ever team total in Asian Games women's cricket history in what turned out to be a match-winning score.
Chasing 217 runs to win, Sri Lanka's top order faltered rapidly under pressure from India's spin attack.
Shafali struck early to remove Imesha Dulani for three, before Deepti Sharma got the prized wicket of Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu for a 21-ball 29. Deepti continued her tight spell, stopping the scoring and picking up key wickets in the middle order.
Shreyanka Patil and Shree Charani dismissed the remaining lineup as Sri Lanka lost wickets in nearly every over. From 41/2 at the end of the powerplay, the Sri Lankan side collapsed to 69 all out in 15.4 overs.
Deepti registered standout figures of 3/6 in four overs, well-supported by Charani (2/13), Shafali (2/3), and Shreyanka (2/9). The 147-run margin of victory capped off a dominant campaign for the Women in Blue as they successfully defended their Asian Games title.
India dominated with the bat and the ball to emerge as the champions at the Asian Games. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team defeated Bangladesh in the semi-final before sealing the medal against Sri Lanka in the final.
(With PTI Inputs)
