Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues stitched a crucial 73-run partnership, followed by young fast-bowling all-rounder Titas Sadhu bowling a deadly spell of 3-6 in four overs to help India beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs and win the country’s first gold medal in women’s T20 event at the Asian Games.
The gold medal in Asian Games is a huge prize for the Indian women’s cricket team after enduring a heartbreak at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where they ended up with the silver medal after losing to Australia.
Electing to bat first, Smriti and Jemimah made 46 and 42 respectively, before India lost wickets at the fag end to finish wit 116/7. Titas, Player of the Match in this year’s U19 Women’s T20 World Cup final for her spell of 2-6, picked three wickets in a spell full of accuracy, including a double-wicket maiden.
Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad took two wickets while Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar and Devika Vaidya had a scalp each to contribute in India’s win in their first-ever participation in the event as Sri Lanka ended up at 97/8.
Brief Scores: India 116/7 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 46, Jemimah Rodrigues 42; Udeshika Prabodhani 2-16, Inoka Ranaweera 2-21) beat Sri Lanka 97/8 in 20 overs (Hasini Perera 25, Nilakshi de Silva 23; Titas Sadhu 3-6, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-20) by 19 runs
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