Sri Lanka Women skipper Chamari Athapaththu expressed disappointment over the batting struggles of her team, despite a favorable batting surface, as they faced their second consecutive loss in the five-match series against hosts India at Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA VDCA Cricket Stadium.
India Secures Victory
Opener Shafali Verma starred for India with a remarkable unbeaten 69, leading India Women to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. India finished the match with 49 balls remaining, securing a 2-0 lead in the T20I series.
Sri Lanka’s Batting Struggles
Choosing to bowl first, India struck quickly, preventing Sri Lanka from gaining any momentum. The visitors showed slight improvement, scoring 128 runs, compared to their 121 in the first T20I. Kranti Gaud maintained her excellent form, dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne for just 1 run in the opening over. While Arundathi Reddy allowed a few early runs, the Indian bowlers applied consistent pressure, restricting Sri Lanka’s free scoring.
Sri Lanka managed 39 runs in the Power-play but faced significant challenges, with Athapaththu being their primary contributor. She struck two sixes in her innings of 31 off 24 balls before falling to Sneh Rana, who was brought in as the only change to the lineup due to Deepti Sharma’s absence because of a fever.
Athapaththu’s Remarks
“We had a good Power-play, but unfortunately, we lost 2 wickets, including myself. India bowled according to their plans. The batters always try to play horizontal shots, which is not their strength. We have to improve. We need to play the middle and death overs well. We need to go for boundaries rather than a rotating strike. As a bowling unit, we struggled to adapt. It’s too hard to spin. We need 150+ runs to defend. This wicket is really good for batting. With the dew coming in, it’s not easy to bowl. We need runs to play with,” Athapaththu stated post-match.
Partnerships for Sri Lanka
Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama attempted to stabilize Sri Lanka’s innings by rotating the strike, bringing their score to 66 for 2 at the halfway mark. However, Perera struggled to accelerate and was dismissed for 22 off 28 balls, taken out by Shree Charani in the 13th over, ending a 44-run partnership. Harshitha added 33 runs before getting run out in the 17th over, halting Sri Lanka’s momentum as they closed their innings at 128 for 9. Shree Charani (2/23) and Vaishnavi Sharma (2/32) emerged as the standout bowlers.
India’s Dominant Chase
In response, Shafali Verma anchored India’s chase with her impressive knock of 69 off 34 balls. She formed a partnership of 29 runs with Smriti Mandhana, who scored 14 off 11 balls. Jemimah Rodrigues also contributed with 26 off 15. India raced to 113 runs within the first 10 overs and completed the chase, finishing at 129 for 3 in just 11.5 overs, with Richa Ghosh hitting the winning run.