Smriti Mandhana hit the headlines with a magnificent 79, which helped India outclass Sri Lanka by 147 runs and clinch the gold medal at the Asian Games on Tuesday.
This was India’s second straight gold medal at the Asian Games, following their success at the 2022 Games in China.
But what was more heartwarming was to see the Indian team share the podium with Pakistan, which won the bronze medal by beating Bangladesh.
The Indian team joined Pakistan and Sri Lanka players for a group photograph after receiving their medals.
The players stood on the podium in the second row, with those in the first row sitting and holding their medals with big smiles on their faces.
Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was standing next to Pakistani captain Fatima Sana as they both smiled and posed with their respective medals.
In recent years, India-Pakistan matches, in both men’s and women’s cricket, have been littered with unsavoury incidents after Indian players refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts.
The bitter diplomatic relations between the two South Asian neighbours following the military conflict in May 2025 have spilled into cricket.
Given that backdrop, it was a welcome change when the Indian players shared the podium with Pakistani players for a group photo on the field.
But on the field, India were in a league of their own. They smashed 216-3 against Sri Lanka in the final with 18 fours and 13 sixes — the highest total in Asian Games women’s cricket.
For India, this was the first gold medal of the 2026 edition of the Asian Games (September 19-October 4) in Japan.
And for the Indian women’s team, this was the second successive triumph, having recently won the Women’s T20 Asia Cup in Dubai with a thumping win over Sri Lanka in the final.
Against the same opponents on Tuesday, India were once again unstoppable as star batter Mandhana produced a magnificent 45-ball 79 (seven sixes and five fours) at the Korogi Athletic Park ground in Nagoya.
Mandhana’s opening partner Shafali Verma (48 off 29 balls) and number four Richa Ghosh (49 not out off 22 balls) were also outstanding, putting the Lankan attack to the sword.
In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for a paltry 69 in 15.4 overs despite Chamari Athapaththu’s 29.
“It’s a good thing to win the first gold medal for India,” Mandhana said.
“It feels amazing. We’ve seen other athletes win gold on TV. But it’s nice to be on the podium.”
Harmanpreet praised the openers for setting up the emphatic win.
“It was good to see again Smriti and Shafali gave us a big start, and in between all the partnerships, they were very crucial,” said Harmanpreet.
“They worked really well, and I think at the end of the day we were able to achieve what we wanted as a batting unit.”
Harmanpreet said the Asian Games gold holds a special place in her heart.
“We are not used to (playing in a multi-sport event like the Asian Games),” she said.
“It means a lot to us, and we’re really happy that we have opened the gate and, hopefully, we’ll see many more golds (for India).
“But that’s why we came to Japan. We have been waiting for this day.”
Earlier, captain Fatima Sana was the star as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 31 runs in the bronze medal match.
Sana’s brilliant 45 off 30 balls helped Pakistan score 145-8 as Bangladesh managed only 114 for seven in reply.
Source: Khaleej Times