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New Delhi: India defeated Sri Lanka by 30 runs in the fourth women's T20I at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, December 28. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma hit fifties as the Women in Blue scored 221/2 in 20 overs, which is their highest-ever total in the WT20Is.
The visitors got off to a great start while chasing the massive target, but lost wickets at regular intervals to fall short of the target as Harmanpreet and Co. took a dominating 4-0 lead in the five-match series.
Hasini Perera and skipper Chamari Athapaththu gave the visitors a flying start as they raced to 50 in just 3.3 overs, forging a 59-run partnership for the first wicket. Arundhati Reddy removed Perera for 33 runs to provide India with their first breakthrough.
After her dismissal, Chamari carried on and brought up her first fifty of the series. She kept her team ahead of India’s score at the halfway stage. Every batter showed intent and kept finding boundaries to ensure Sri Lanka stayed alive in the run chase.
But the visitors failed to match India’s explosive second-half performance and finished on 191. The Indian bowlers operated with a wet ball and struggled to stop the run-scoring, and the fielders also had a tough time in the middle. Vaishnavi Sharma and Arundhati Reddy picked up two wickets each.
Earlier, India scored 221 runs in the 20 overs, posting their highest-ever total in the women’s T20 internationals. Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bowl first, but Sri Lanka's bowlers struggled to contain the Indian batters throughout the innings.
Shafali continued her sensational form, while Mandhana batted with extra caution for a while before changing gears. They stitched a 162-run partnership for the opening wicket, which is also the highest stand for India for any wicket in Women’s T20Is.
Mandhana became the fastest woman batter to cross the 10,000-run mark in international cricket. She also became the fourth player, after Mithali Raj, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and England’s Charlotte Edwards, to score 10000 runs in international cricket.
Shafali scored 79 runs off 46 balls, with the help of 12 boundaries and one maximum, while Mandhana smashed 80 runs off 48 balls, including 11 boundaries and three maximums. After their dismissal, the visitors looked to make a comeback, but Richa Ghosh and Harmanpreet played explosive innings, forging 53 runs for the third wicket to help India post 221/2, which the visitors failed to chase.
