The Indian women's cricket team survived a mid-innings collapse to beat Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second Twenty20 International to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, in Ranchi on Wednesday. After restricting Sri Lanka to 107/8 in 20 overs, the Indians endured some anxious moments before coming through in 19 overs. The decision to bat first backfired severely on the Lankans with Ekta Bisht (3/22) and Poonam Yadav (3/17) combining to rip through the visiting line-up. Dilani Manodara's 27 was the best that a Lankan batter could manage, followed by skipper Shashikala Siriwardene's 26-run effort. In reply, India's in-form captain Mithali Raj was the star performer for the hosts, striking an unbeaten 51 which came off 52 balls and was studded with half a dozen fours.
Medium-pacer Deepti Sharma grabbed six wickets before Veda Krishnamurthy scored a half-century as India women completed 3-0 clean sweep after posting a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI on Friday at Ranchi. Deepti followed up her four-for in the previous game with figures of six for 20 to bundle out Sri Lanka for a paltry 112 in 38.2 overs. India then crossed the target in just 29.3 overs with Veda Krishnamurthy top-scoring with an unbeaten 61. Sri Lanka got off to a good start after electing to bat, with openers Yasoda Mendis (14) and Prasadani Weerakkody (19) adding 33 before Deepti took two wickets in two consecutive deliveries to trigger a dramatic collapse. Although captain Shashikala Siriwardene (14) and Dilani Manodara (23) later combined for a 32-run sixth-wicket stand, wickets kept falling and Sri Lanka were ultimately bowled out for 112 from 94 for five at one stage. Debutant Preeti Bose also put up an impressive show, returning figures of 8-4-8-2.
Anuja Patil produced a cameo with the bat to lift the team to 130 and then took three wickets to guide India Women to a 34-run win over Sri Lanka Women in the first Twenty20 International on Monday. With this victory, India Women have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 series. Opting to bat, India Women posted 130 for six and then managed to restrict Sri Lanka to 96 for seven in 20 overs. Indian eves did not have an ideal start as they lost skipper Mithali Raj (3) and V R Vanitha (12) early to be reeling at 15 for 2 in four overs. But responsible batting by Smriti Mandhana (35) and Harmanpreet Kaur (36) put India back on track. Anuja provided the final flourish after coming in to bat at No.6. She hit three fours during her 22 that came off 17 balls. Left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka. She accounted for the top three and ended with figures of three for 28. Chasing a modest target, Sri Lanka lost opener Yasoda Mendis for eight with Anuja striking in the very first over. In her second over, Anuja returned to dismiss the other opener Chamari Atapattu for a duck to reduce the visitors to 13 for two.
'We need to work on our partnerships as batters'
The Indian women's cricket team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with a six-wicket win in the second match here on Wednesday. Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka could manage only 178 for nine in the allotted 50 overs at the JSCA International Stadium Complex. 18-year-old Deepti Sharma was the wrecker-in-chief, picking up four for 23 with her medium pace bowling, to set up the home side's win. Skipper Mithali Raj then remained unbeaten on 53 to guide her team home with as many as 41 balls to spare. India were 179 for four in 43.1 overs when the winning run was scored. Raj, who struck four boundaries in her 80-ball knock, was supported by opener Smriti Mandhana (46), who narrowly missed out on her fourth successive fifty-plus score, and Harmanpreet Kaur (41). Mandhana hit four boundaries and a six in her run-a-ball innings, while Kaur found the fence six times while facing 61 balls.
India's unpredictable middle-order has repeatedly squandered good starts at the women's T20 World cup. In all the three matches, the bowling unit bailed the side out.
India took a giant stride towards clinching a semi-final spot with another convincing 16-run victory over Sri Lanka in a one-sided ICC Women's ODI World Cup encounter in Derby.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances