HANGZHOU: India women’s team struck gold on their Asian Games cricket debut by defeating Sri Lanka by 19 runs. India did not participate in the 2010 and 2014 editions of the Asian Games.
India women’s team batted first after winning the toss at the Zhejiang University for Technology Pingfeng Cricket Field. Smriti Mandhana scored 46 runs and Jemimah Rodrigues made 42 runs to guide their team to 116-7.
In reply, Sri Lanka had a poor start as they lost three wickets for 14 runs but managed to come back as they got to 78-3. However, Indian bowlers restricted the Lankan team to 97-8. Indian right-arm seamer Titas Sadhu finished with the remarkable figures of three wickets for six runs from her four-over quota.
On the other hand, Pakistani women had a poor show in the Asian Games women’s cricket. The Green Caps lost to the Bangladesh women’s team by five wickets in the third-place match. Hence, Pakistan remained medal-less in the category.