HANGZHOU: India struck gold on their Asian Games cricket debut when they beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in the women’s final in Hangzhou on Monday.
They had declined to enter any teams on the two previous occasions cricket had been played at the multi-sport event, at Guangzhou in 2010 and Incheon in 2014.
Batting first after winning the toss at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field, they reached 116-7 with Smriti Mandhana (46) and Jemimah Rodrigues (42) putting on 73 for the second wicket.
Sri Lanka’s chase started badly and they were reduced to 14-3 in the fifth over with right-arm seamer Titas Sadhu doing the damage with two wickets in her first four balls.
She finished with the remarkable figures of three wickets for six runs from her four overs.
Sri Lanka were always behind the run rate despite Hasini Perera looking to accelerate, hitting four fours and a six in a rapid 25.
When Nilakshi de Silva became the fifth wicket to fall after a battling 23, Sri Lanka were 78-3 and still needed 39 with 23 balls remaining.
Two more wickets saw them need a near impossible 25 off the last over and India celebrated as they finished on 97-8 off their 20 overs.
Bangladesh beat Pakistan by five wickets in the bronze medal match.
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