Sign In
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
By signing in or creating an account, you agree with Associated Broadcasting Company's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
New Delhi: India defeated Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the third women's T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, December 26. Shafali Verma notched up a half-century, and Renuka Singh Thakur picked 4 wickets as the Women in Blue took a commanding 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series.
Harmanpreet Kaur becomes the most successful captain in women's T20Is, winning 77 matches out of the 130. She surpassed former Australia captain Meg Lanning's record of 76 wins in 100 matches. This is also India's fourth consecutive series victory against Sri Lanka in T20Is.
| Rank | Captain | Wins | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harmanpreet Kaur | 77 | 130* |
| 2 | Meg Lanning | 76 | 100 |
| 3 | Heather Knight | 72 | 96 |
| 4 | Charlotte Edwards | 68 | 93 |
Shafali Verma delivered a sensational batting performance as the Women in Blue chased down a 113-run target with 40 balls to spare. The explosive opener smashed an unbeaten 79 runs off 42 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and three maximums. Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma also played a crucial role in India's victory.
Batting first, the visitors put in their worst batting performance and managed to score just 112/7, their lowest in the ongoing series. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu struggled with the bat before Deepti Sharma removed her for 3 off 12. Hasini Perera hit three boundaries and looked good before Renuka Singh dismissed her.
Renuka removed Perera and Samarawickrama in the last over of the power play to break the backbone of Sri Lanka's batting. She picked up four wickets, while Deepti also had brilliant outing as the all-rounder equalled Australian fast bowler Megan Schutt’s record for most wickets in Women’s T20Is.
She choked the Lankan batters with tight overs and picked up three wickets. Imesha Dulani (27), Kavisha Dilhari (20) and Kaushini Nuthyangana (19) showed some urgency with the bat for the visitors, but their efforts weren’t good enough for Sri Lanka to put up a competitive total.
Chasing the target, Shafali continued her brilliant form, smashing a 24-ball fifty. She also became the third Indian batter after Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana to hit 300 fours in T20Is. The opener also hit the joint third-fastest half-century for India in WT20Is.
Shafali also surpassed Mithali Raj to become India’s third-highest run-getter in Women’s T20Is. Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana failed to make an impact with the bat, but skipper Harmanpreet made a crucial contribution, scoring 21 runs off 18 balls as India took a 3-0 lead in the series.
