Shafali Verma’s century sets up Asian Games final against Sri Lanka

Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 100 off 49 balls in the semifinal set up India’s place in the Asian Games cricket final against Sri Lanka.

It was her first century in Women’s T20 Internationals.

India beat Bangladesh by 114 runs in that semifinal.

The final against Sri Lanka began at 10:30 am IST on September 22.

India are the defending champions in the event.

India are the defending champions, having beaten Sri Lanka to win their first Asian Games cricket gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

India’s squad is led by Harmanpreet Kaur and includes Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh.

The winner of the match takes the gold medal, with the loser settling for silver.

India’s route to the final included an eight-wicket win over Japan in the quarterfinal, where they chased 58 in five overs.

The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

India has already won medals in other sports at these Games, including silvers in shooting and a bronze in mixed martial arts.

Weather was flagged as a possible factor for the final, given the wider spell of rain and thunderstorms forecast across parts of India and the region this week.

The match is being shown on the Sony Sports Network and streamed on SonyLIV.

A win for India would make it back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in women’s cricket.

A win for Sri Lanka would be their first Asian Games gold in the sport.

The final follows a group and knockout format used across the Asian Games cricket competition.

The gold medal match between India Women and Sri Lanka Women began at 10:30 am IST on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at the Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin.

India reached the final after a 114-run win over Bangladesh in the semifinal, powered by Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 100 off 49 balls.

Cricket stadium (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0