India Women clinched a low-scoring thriller to win a historic gold in cricket at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The Indian eves beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs to win the second gold for the country.
Aishwary Pratap Singh, Divyansh Singh Panwar and Rudrankksh Patil won India's first gold, in the 10m air rifle men’s team event earlier today.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, India Women could only manage 116/7 in 20 overs because of a middle-order collapse. Smriti Mandhana was the top scorer with 46 runs, while Jemimah Rodrigues made 42. The duo added 73 runs for the second wicket.
None of the other Indian batters were even able to get to double figures.
The Lankan women faltered early in the chase, with pacer Titas Sadhu accounting for the top three batters within the first five overs, which included the prized scalp of skipper Chamari Athapaththu. She was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 3/6 in four overs.
Leg-spinner Devika Vaidya (4-0-15-1), too, bowled a miserly spell.
Hasini Perera (25) and Nilakshi de Silva (23) delayed the inevitable, as the Lankans were restricted to 97/8 in 20 overs.
