Vaishnavi Sharma and Arundhati Reddy took two wickets each as India Women triumphed over Sri Lanka Women by 30 runs in the fourth T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Chasing a target of 222, Sri Lanka made a strong start, racing to fifty in just 3.3 overs after India finished with 221/3, led by Smriti Mandhana’s 80 and Shafali Verma’s 79. Captain Chamari Athapaththu top-scored for Sri Lanka with 52, as all batters came out intent on hitting boundaries. However, they couldn’t surpass India’s record score and concluded their innings at 191/6, which is now their highest total in women’s T20Is.
India faced their first real challenge of the series, as bowlers struggled with a wet ball and fielding errors were apparent. Vaishnavi Sharma excelled with figures of 2-24 in her four overs, while Arundhati Reddy took 2-42. The rest of the bowling unit found it tough to contain the aggressive Sri Lankan batters. Fortunately, India’s substantial total provided a cushion, allowing them to maintain their unbeaten streak in the series.
Sri Lanka’s intent was clear from the outset, with Hasini Perera hitting three boundaries in the opening over off Renuka Singh Thakur. Arundhati Reddy, who replaced the rested Kranti Gaud, had a challenging start, with her first two legal deliveries going for boundaries, including a no-ball that resulted in a free hit. The second over also went for 15 runs. India’s attempt to introduce spin did not pay off as Deepti Sharma’s first over conceded 13 runs, bringing Sri Lanka to 43/0.
The partnership between Hasini and Chamari flourished, reaching fifty in the fourth over before Arundhati took the first breakthrough in the sixth over, dismissing Perera for 33 off 20 balls. The opener’s attempt to clear long-off ended with a catch to Harmanpreet Kaur.
This momentarily halted Sri Lanka’s momentum, but Chamari and Imesha Dulani steadied the innings with intelligent strike rotation, reaching 95/1 at the halfway point, six runs ahead of India’s score at the same stage.
Imesha had a lucky escape when Vaishnavi Sharma nearly stumped her, but it was ruled a no-ball. Chamari brought up her fifty off just 31 balls, but she fell shortly after, caught in the deep off Vaishnavi for 52 off 37 balls.
Although Deepti dropped a catch of Harshitha Samarawickrama, it had little consequence, as Imesha was run out by a throw from Amanjot Kaur. Vaishnavi then stumped Harshitha after she was beaten in flight. The fielding continued to falter, with Richa missing another stumping and Smriti dropping a catch at long-on, giving Nilashika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari further chances. However, Kavisha fell for 13 off Arundhati, with substitute fielder G Kamalini finally securing the catch after three attempts. Deepti dropped yet another catch, this time of Rashmika Sewwandi, before she was bowled by a slower full toss from Sree Charani, pushing India ahead once more.
Brief Scores:
- India: 221/2 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 80, Shafali Verma 79, Richa Ghosh 40 not out; Malsha Shehani 1-32, Nimasha Madushani 1-40)
- Sri Lanka: 191/6 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 52, Hasini Perera 33; Vaishnavi Sharma 2-24, Arundhati Reddy 2-42)
India won by 30 runs.