Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Sri Lanka lifted its maiden Women’s Asia Cup title by defeating seven-time champions India by eight wickets in Dambulla on Sunday.
Batting first, India scored 165 runs for the loss of six wickets helped by Smriti Mandhana’s half-century. Captain Chamari Athapaththu and Harshita Samarawickrama struck half-centuries as Sri Lanka chased down the target, losing two wickets with eight balls to spare.
Shefali Verma and Mandhana added 44 runs for the first wicket for India. After Verma fell scoring 16 from 19, Mandhana lost support from the other end as Uma Chhetry and captain Harmanpreet Kaur contributed only 9 and 11 runs, respectively. Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh scored quickfire 29 and 30, respectively, to take India past 160 runs.
Kavisha Dilhari took two wickets for Sri Lanka, while Udeshika Prabodhani, Sachini Nisansala, and Athapaththu contributed one wicket each.
Sri Lanka lost opener Vishmi Gunaratne for one run with just seven runs on the board. However, Captain Athapaththu and Harshita Samarawickrama added 87 for the second wicket to put Sri Lanka on track for the maiden title. Athapaththu scored 61 off 43 balls, including nine fours and two towering sixes, while Samarawickrama scored an unbeaten 69 off 51 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Kavisha Dilhari remained unbeaten at 30 runs from 16 balls.
Deepti Sharma took one wicket for India.
