India retain Women's Asia Cup

Mithali Raj passed 3,000 ODI runs during her innings

India retained the Women's Asia Cup with a comprehensive 177-run win over hosts Sri Lanka in Kurunegala.

Asha Rawat hit a six and 12 fours in an innings of 97 as India made 260-7 in their 50 overs after winning the toss.

She shared a stand of 91 with skipper Mithali Raj (66) before Rumeli Dhar gave the innings a final flourish with 50 off just 31 balls.

Only two Sri Lankans reached double figures as they were bowled out for 83 in 35.2 overs in reply.

Shashikala Siriwardene followed figures of 4-53 in India's innings with 20 as she and Chamari Polgampola (23) added 41 for the second wicket.

But once Siriwardene had fallen to Dhar's medium pace, the rest of the Sri Lanka batting order was unable to cope with India's spinners.

Neetu David and Pujare Seema claimed three wickets each before new ball bowler Jhulan Goswami returned to pick up the last and give India their fourth successive win in the competition.

"I am delighted with my team?s performance in the tournament," Raj said aftewards.

"We tried new players and experimented with different combinations during the competition. I am glad that everything worked well for us and we maintained a high level of consistency which was the perfect icing on the cake."