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New Delhi: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (68) led from the front with a fighting half-century as India recovered from a shaky start to post a competitive 175 for seven against Sri Lanka in the fifth and final women's T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
Harmanpreet's knock was complemented by Arundhati Reddy, who played a quickfire knock of 27 not out. The all-rounder's 11-ball innings was laced with four fours and a six, with her late onslaught proving vital for the hosts to cross the 150-mark.
India, gunning for a 5-0 whitewash to end a dream year, were left tottering at 77 for five after 10 overs, but Harmanpreet stepped up to play her first impactful knock of the series.
She struck nine fours and a six in her 43-ball knock and mesmerised the fans with some stunning strokes on both sides of the wicket. Her 61-run sixth-wicket stand with Amanjot Kaur (21) was also crucial to India's rescue.
In the process, Harmanpreet, after completing her 16th half-century, also moved one step closer to former skipper Mithali Raj's tally in the list of Indian women with the most fifty-plus scores in the format with this innings. Smriti Mandhana is sitting on top of the list with 33 fifty-plus scores, followed by Mithali (17) and Harmanpreet (16).
| Rank | Player | Inns | 50+ Scores | Fifties/Hundreds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smriti Mandhana | 151 | 33 | 32 fifties, 1 hundred |
| 2 | Mithali Raj | 84 | 17 | 17 fifties |
| 3 | Harmanpreet Kaur | 167 | 16 | 15 fifties, 1 hundred |
| 4 | Jemimah Rodrigues | 102 | 14 | 14 fifties |
| 5 | Shafali Varma | 94 | 14 | 14 fifties |
After being sent into bat, India were under pressure from the word go with the new opening pair of debutant G Kamalini and Shafali Verma falling cheaply after vice-captain Smriti Mandhana was rested from the final match of the series.
Coming on the back of the three consecutive fifties, Shafali (5) was caught at long-on by Imesha Dulani off Nimasha Meepage in the second over after failing to time an attacking stroke properly.
Debutant Kamalini (12) played two attractive shots but was trapped in front by Kavisha Dilhari (2/11).
Harleen Deol (13), Richa Ghosh (5), and Deepti Sharma (7) also fell cheaply as Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu (2/21) rattled the Indian middle-order with a fantastic spell.
