Lanka News Links – Two of Asia’s most dominant women’s cricket sides are about to meet again, and this time there’s a gold medal at stake. Sri Lanka and India booked their places in the final of the Women’s Cricket event at the 2026 Asian Games with commanding semi-final wins at Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Japan, setting up a gold medal clash on September 22.
It’s a final that carries some history with it. India beat Sri Lanka for gold at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2022, and the two sides only just met in another final — the Women’s T20 Asia Cup in Dubai on September 13, which India won comfortably by 72 runs. Sri Lanka will be out to avenge that defeat, and to go one better than four years ago.
India Blow Bangladesh Away
India’s path to the final was built on one of the great individual T20I innings of the year. Openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma tore into the Bangladesh attack from the very first over, racing to 72 for the loss of just one wicket inside the powerplay. Mandhana’s contribution — a rapid 37 off 19 balls — also made her, in that very innings, the leading run-scorer in the history of women’s T20I cricket.
If Mandhana lit the fuse, Shafali Verma detonated the innings. Batting alongside her captain Harmanpreet Kaur in a stand of 94 off just 55 balls, Verma brought up a 24-ball fifty and kept going, reaching her maiden T20I century off just 49 deliveries — an innings laced with three fours and nine towering sixes. Harmanpreet’s own 40 off 33 rounded out a total of 195 for 4, a score that was always going to be a mountain to climb.
Bangladesh never got close. India’s bowlers set the tone early, with Nandani Sharma striking inside the first two overs, and further wickets from Kranti Gaud and Sree Charani leaving Bangladesh reeling at 39 for 3 by the end of the powerplay. Nandani Sharma (3/25) and Deepti Sharma (3/7) tightened the screws from there, and Bangladesh were bowled out for just 81 — a 114-run defeat that sent India through in emphatic style.
Sri Lanka Chase Down a Classic
Sri Lanka’s route to the final was a very different kind of statement — one built on a record-breaking chase against Pakistan. Sent in to bowl first, Sri Lanka struck immediately when Sugandika Kumari bowled Gull Feroza with the very first delivery of the match. But Pakistan recovered in style: Shawaal Zulfiqar (54 off 50) and Ayesha Zafar (71 off 40) put together a stand of 115, the highest third-wicket partnership ever recorded against Sri Lanka in this format, before a late flourish of 20 off 12 from Fatima Sana lifted Pakistan to 177 for 4 — their highest total ever against the Sri Lankans.
Chasing 178 looked a daunting task, but it barely fazed Sri Lanka’s captain. Chamari Athapaththu played the innings of the tournament, finishing unbeaten on 83 off just 50 balls. Opener Imesha Dulani gave her the platform with a brisk 27 off 21, and Athapaththu took full control in the eighth over, plundering 20 runs off a single Momina Riasat over to seize the momentum. Hasini Perera then kept the required rate manageable with a crisp 42 off 26 before falling, leaving Sri Lanka needing 47 from 36 balls — a target Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama knocked off with more than two overs in hand. It was a chase that equalled Sri Lanka’s highest-ever successful run pursuit in T20 cricket.
What to Expect in the Final
On paper, India go in as favourites. They hold a commanding 25-6 head-to-head advantage over Sri Lanka in T20 internationals and are the defending Asian Games champions in this event. But finals between these two sides have a habit of not going to script — Sri Lanka won the previous edition of the Women’s Asia Cup final against India before India turned the tables in Dubai just over a week ago.
With Chamari Athapaththu in the form of her life and India’s top order — Mandhana, Verma and Harmanpreet — all firing, the gold medal match promises to be one of the standout contests of the tournament. Pakistan and Bangladesh will contest the bronze medal match on the same day.