Visakhapatnam, Dec 21 Indian bowlers came up with a superb performance to restrict Sri Lanka to a modest 121/6 in 20 overs in the first match of the five-match women's T20I bilateral series at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
After skipper Harmanpreet Kaur elected to field on winning the toss in their first outing since winning the Women's ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai, the Indian bowlers strangled the Sri Lankan batters despite atrocious fielding that included a few dropped catches, misfields and a six palmed-over by Smriti Mandhana as the 50 overs World Champions struggled to adjust with the short format, which they were playing after a big break.
The Sri Lankans were not much better and struggled with the T20 format after they lost skipper Chamari Athapaththu for 15 off 12 balls as they managed to score only 31/1 in the Power-play. The Sri Lankan captain struck three fours in the first couple of overs before Kranti Gaud managed to sneak a ball through the gap between the bat and pad to rattle the stumps for her first Women's T20I wicket.
Though debutant spinner Vaishavi Sharma failed to get a wicket, she conceded only 16 runs in her four overs as the Indians tied the Sri Lankans in knots. Deepti Sharma conceded only 10 runs in three overs, while N Shree Charani was comparatively costly in her spell of 1-30 in four overs. She was also guilty of dropping two easy skiers.
But the spinners did their job as they tied things up in the middle overs as the hosts put their experience to good use. For India, Kranti Gaud (1-23), Deepti Sharma (1-20), and N. Shree Charani (1-30) claimed a wicket each.
Vishmi Gunaratne waged a lone battle for Sri Lanka as she scored a slow 39 off 43 balls, hitting a four and a six before she was run out to a piece of good work by Kranti Gaud. She shared a 38-run partnership with Harshitha Samarawickrama, but once the latter was out, Sri Lanka's batting effort got derailed once again.
Hasini Perera 20 off 23 and Harshitha Samarawickrama (21 off 23) got starts but could not capitalise on them. But they helped the Islanders cross into three figures, though they could not manage to hit any big shots.
Both India and Sri Lanka have gone into the match with contrasting selection decisions. While India showed trust in the tried and tested, retaining a majority of players that figured in their triumphant 50-over World Cup winning campaign, Sri Lanka picked several youngsters as both teams try to find the best combinations for the Women's T20 World Cup to be held later in 2026.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka Women 121/6 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 39, Harshitha Samarawickrama 21; Kranti Gaud 1-23, Deepti Sharma 1-20, N. Shree Charani 1-30) against India Women
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