Saleema Imtiaz(Pakistan), Shathira Jakir(Bangladesh), Hemangi Yerzal(United Arab Emirates, TV)
Referee
GS Lakshmi(India)
Toss
India Women elected to bat
Pitch Report
It is a very good batting surface. India and Sri Lanka combined have score more than 1000 runs. A good decision from India to bat first and Sri Lanka will have to bowl within the line of the stumps and not give away width should they want to pick up wickets
Experts are creating their teams, watch this space
Expert Team 1
C Atapattu
D Sharma
Expert Team 2
S Mandhana
S Verma
Venue Details
Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
It is a very good batting surface. India and Sri Lanka combined have score more than 1000 runs. A good decision from India to bat first and Sri Lanka will have to bowl within the line of the stumps and not give away width should they want to pick up wickets
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
There it is then. Sri Lanka are Asian champions. It's been so long. The team has suffered so much, the country has suffered so much with the loss in the last men's Asia Cup, with the performances in the last two World Cups, with the economy, with the ban, it was a never-ending dark tunnel. It has been put to an end by the national silver light - Chamari Atapattu and her wonderful team that dances on her rhythm. It's an unbelievable achievement. India, meanwhile, they'd rue the chances they dropped, they'd rue the lack of intent in their batting and the inability to wage of the pressure. Like always, there are celebrations and there are lessons. But they are signs that Women's cricket is breathing, Sri Lankan cricket is breathing. It's Rudransh signing off on behalf of Lavil for Sportskeeda. Hope you have a day as good as those fans in Dambulla!
Chamari collects the trophy and the celebrations begin!
Chamari Atapattu (Sri Lanka captain): I am really happy about my team's performance, especially our batting. Special credit to Harshitha and Dilhari. This is not a one man show. The whole team helped me a lot. Support staff, youngsters, seniors. Finally we have won an Asia Cup. I have never seen such a crowd. Special thanks to Sri Lankan people and the crowd. They have helped my team. It's been really good for my Sri Lanka because we have to inspire the next generation. I enjoy my cricket all the time in the middle. I do my duty for my country and my team. We always talk about positive things in the dressing room. Special thanks to the coaches for that. This is not the end. Our next target is the World Cup. (On her future) Yeah, I hopefully will continue. Till the next World Cup.
BREAKING: Sri Lanka cricket announces a prize of $100,000 for the team over the tournament award.
Cheers for the Sri Lankan team as they walk up to take their winner's medals. They will be receiving it in their batting order, with Chamari Athapaththu receiving it at the last
Harmanpreet Kaur (India captain): We played very good cricket throughout. Today we made a lot of fumbles which is why we lost. It was a decent total. The powerplay didn't go how we wanted, we wanted some wickets. There are a lot of areas to improve. We'll work hard in the coming days. They have been playing good cricket for a long time. I know they have done well. Congratulations to them.
The Indian team now walks up to the podium to receive their runners-up medals. They will receive it in their batting order, with Harmanpreet Kaur receiving it at the last
Chamari Athapaththu is the Player of the Tournament. She will be speaking with the presenter later
Harshitha Samarawickrama is the Player of the Match. Here is what she has to say: She was very happy that she scored in the game. She had a couple of failures in the previous games and is happy to score against India. When Chamari was out, she wanted to bat in the middle with Kavisha and batted positively. She is very thankful for the freedom she got to play with (Translated from Sinhala)
Time now for the presentation ceremony. The match officials (match referees and umpires) walk up to the podium to receive their momentos
Sri Lanka soak in the feeling here and carry out a lap of honour to thank those who came to support the team in huge numbers
Harshitha Samarawickrama: She is very happy to have done it in the finals. Thank you to the crowd, it is a huge crowd here (Translated from Sinhala)
SRI LANKA WIN! A CRICKETING GIANT GETS CPR-ED A NEW LEASE OF LIFE BY IT'S BRAVE WOMEN! DAMBULLA APPLAUDS, IT HAS WITNESSED HISTORY. IT HAS WITNESSED AN ASIA CUP FINAL WIN OVER INDIA. IT HAS WITNESSED THE HIGHEST-EVER T20I RUN-CHASE FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE BIGGEST GAME. SRI LANKA ARE CHAMPIONS OF THE ASIA CUP AND THEY WELL AND TRULY DESERVE IT, THEY DESERVE IT MORE THAN THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS WHO HAVE CRUMBLED!
THEY HAVE DONE IT THROUGH HARSHITA WHO DROPPED TWO CATCHES IN THE FIRST INNINGS! A NEW CHAMPION HAS RISEN AND SHE'S HERE TO STAY. THEY HAVE DONE IT AFTER THE FOUNDATION, LIKE THE ROOTS OF THIS COUNTRY'S WOMEN'S CRICKET, WAS LAID BY CHAMARI. THEY HAVE DONE IT FOR HER!
End of the match!
Sri Lanka triumph by 8 wickets with 8 balls remaining!
Amazing, amazing day for Sri Lankan cricket. They had a full house for this game. And no one can say that the crowd doesn't make a difference in cricket. The hosts women were pumped up. They batted like they were on fire and they were being cheered on for every little act. India just seemed suffocated.
The first two overs went India's way. Chamari ran her partner out and India tried to keep things tight. But then the Sri Lankan captain's mental fortitude came through and she found the inner fire to attack and never really stopped. India helped her by giving the final over of the powerplay to Tanuja which allowed them momentum.
The partnership rode on it for the next 10 overs. India's fielding was poor and their bowling -- usually too short or too full -- was even worse. The crowd and the momentum seemed to be getting to them as they couldn't build pressure even in Harshitha on the other end, allowing her to rotate strike.
Deepti, who had been spared the assault got under the pump from Chamari in her third over but then managed to sneak one in to get her out. Then came the second big moment as in her last over, Harman dropped a well-set Harshitha. After that, they let their courage take over. Kavisha Dilhari played a blinding cameo and Harshitha continued pushing the boundaries. Excellent strike-rotation and mature strokeplay just made for an amazing watch.
Dilhari hit a beautiful six to finish things off, making a massive statement: Sri Lankan Women's cricket is no more Chamari Atapattu vs the opposition.
18.4 Pooja Vastrakar to Kavisha Dilhari, SIX! KAVISHA AND SRI LANKA ARE CHAMPIONS OF ASIA! Dambulla dances and 'Sri Lanka' chants reverberate in the stadium. Back of a length from Vastrakar, Dilhari takes a couple of steps down the track and hits it a long way over the boundary to seal the win. They came close 5 times earlier and finally, they have one Asia Cup to their name!
5 off 9 needed now...
18.3 Pooja Vastrakar to Harshitha Samarawickrama, full length delivery outside the off stump. Harshitha hits it down the ground for a single
18.2 Pooja Vastrakar to Harshitha Samarawickrama, short and down the legside. Harshitha has a play and a miss. No run
18.1 Pooja Vastrakar to Harshitha Samarawickrama, back of a length delivery on the line of the off stump. Harshitha pulls it towards deep midwicket and picks up a brace