Sri Lanka Creates History, Wins Asia Cup by Defeating India

For the first time in history, Sri Lanka's women's cricket team has won the Asia Cup trophy. In a remarkable achievement, they defeated the favorites, India, by 8 wickets in the final of the Women's Asia Cup.

The match took place on Sunday at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium. India won the toss and chose to bat, posting a total of 165 runs for 6 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In response, Sri Lanka chased down the target with 8 balls and 2 wickets to spare.

Batting first, India's openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana scored 44 runs during the powerplay. Shafali was dismissed for 16 runs at the team's score of 50. Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur could not contribute much, scoring only 11 runs. Uma Sethi also returned to the pavilion after making 9 runs.

Smriti Mandhana played a responsible innings, reaching her half-century in 35 balls. She was caught out after scoring 60 runs from 47 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues played an excellent cameo, scoring 29 runs off 16 balls. In the final stages, Richa Ghosh's explosive 30 runs from 14 balls helped India reach a competitive total of 165 for 6.

For Sri Lanka, Kavisha Dilhari took two wickets, while Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala, and Chamari Athapaththu each took one wicket.

Chasing a target of 166 runs, Sri Lankan opener Vishmi Gunaratne was run out early, scoring just 1 run from 3 balls. Captain Chamari Athapaththu then formed a strong partnership with Harshitha Samarawickrama. Athapaththu scored 61 runs off Deepti Sharma's bowling, including 9 fours and 2 sixes.

The partnership between Harshitha and Chamari yielded 87 runs. After Chamari's dismissal, Kavisha Dilhari provided excellent support to Harshitha. Their contributions brought Sri Lanka to the brink of victory. Kavisha sealed the win with a six off Pooja Vastrakar's delivery. Harshitha and Kavisha remained unbeaten, scoring 69 and 30 runs respectively.

Harshitha was named the Player of the Final, while Chamari Athapaththu was awarded the Player of the Tournament.