Sri Lanka Women won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
India is currently leading 4-0 in the five-match series and is eyeing a clean sweep. The first two matches took place in Visakhapatnam, and the final three are being held in Thiruvananthapuram.
Debut for Kamalini
Gunalan Kamalini is set to make her international debut for India as Smriti Mandhana, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Kranti Goud have been rested. Sneh Rana and Harleen Deol return to the playing eleven. Kamalini, a 17-year-old top-order batter who also keeps wickets, was part of India’s Under-19 team that clinched the Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year. She was Tamil Nadu’s leading run-scorer in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy.
Changes in Sri Lanka’s Squad
For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera and Malki Madara are back in the team.
Captain’s Views
Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka Women’s captain, stated, “We will bowl first. We played some good cricket in the last game, so we decided to bowl first. We learnt a lot of things this year. We played against the World Champions. This opportunity will be very good for the youngsters. We will carry the positives into the new year.”
Harmanpreet Kaur, India Women’s captain, mentioned, “We were okay to bat first also. It is an important match. So let’s take it that way. How we started this series, that’s exactly how we want to finish. We have two changes: Smriti Mandhana and Renuka Thakur are resting. G. Kamalini makes her debut. Sneh Rana is back.”
Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka Women: Hasini Perera, Chamari Athapaththu (c), Imesha Dulani, Harshitha Madavi Samarawickrama (vc), Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Rashmika Sewwandi, Kaushani Nuthyangana (wk), Nimasha Madushani, Inoka Ranaweera, Malki Madara.
India Women: Shafali Verma, G. Kamalini, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Vaishnavi Sharma, Shree Charani, Arundhati Reddy.