Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 28 (IANS) Vaishnavi Sharma and Arundhati Reddy picked up two wickets each as India Women overcame a spirited challenge from Sri Lanka Women to win the fourth T20I by 30 runs at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Chasing 222, after Smriti Mandhana’s 80 and Shafali Verma’s 79 took India to 221/3 in their 20 overs, Sri Lanka mounted a spirited effort by racing to fifty in just 3.3 overs, and captain Chamari Athapaththu top-scoring with 52, as all batters came out with an intention to hit boundaries.
Yet they could not overhaul India’s record score, and the visitors ended up at 191/6 in their 20 overs, which is now their highest total posted in women’s T20Is.
India were tested for the first time in the series, as their bowlers grappled with a wet ball and the fielding unit looked below par. Vaishnavi stood out with her figures of 2-24 in her four overs, while Arundhati took 2-42. The rest of the attack found it hard to contain the Sri Lankan batters. But the cushion of a record batting effort proved to be decisive as India held firm to extend their unbeaten run in the series.
In the chase, Sri Lanka made their intentions clear from the first ball, with Hasini Perera smashing three boundaries in the opening over off Renuka Singh Thakur. Arundhati Reddy, brought into the side for this match in place of a rested Kranti Gaud, endured a torrid start to her spell.
Her first two legal deliveries disappeared to the fence, with the second coming off a no-ball and free hit that yielded 10 runs, as the second over went for 15 runs. India's attempt to stem the flow by introducing spin backfired as Deepti Sharma's first over leaked 13 runs, as Sri Lanka rocketed to 43/0.
The opening pair of Hasini and Chamari Athapaththu continued their onslaught through the Power-play, bringing up Sri Lanka’s fifty in the fourth over. India's breakthrough came in the sixth over when Arundhati dismissed the dangerous Perera for 33 off 20 balls. The opener attempted to clear long-off, but the bat turned in her hand, and Harmanpreet Kaur completed the catch at mid-off.
It briefly stalled Sri Lanka's momentum as boundaries dried up. However, captain Chamari and Imesha Dulani steadied the innings through smart strike rotation, keeping the scoreboard ticking. At the 10-over mark, Sri Lanka stood at 95/1, six runs ahead of India's position at the same stage.
A moment of fortune came for Imesha when Vaishnavi Sharma beat her in flight and almost had her stumped if wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh hadn’t missed it, but the delivery was ruled a no-ball. Chamari reached her fifty off just 31 balls, but just as she appeared set for playing a match-winning knock, she departed for 52 off 37 balls – holing out in the deep off Vaishnavi Sharma.
Though Deepti misjudged the delivery and dropped a chance of Harshitha Samarawickrama, it didn’t cost much as Imesha was run out by a good throw from Amanjot Kaur. In the next over, Harshitha was beaten in flight by Vaishnavi, and this time, Richa held on to complete the stumping.
The fielding errors continued when Richa missed a stumping, while Smriti dropped a catch at long-on to give Nilashika Silva and Kavisha Dilhari reprieves. But Kavisha fell for 13 off Arundhati, with substitute fielder G Kamalini finally taking the catch after three failed attempts. Though Deepti dropped another catch, this time of Rashmika Sewwandi, she was castled by a slower full toss from Sree Charani, as India got the game in their favour yet again.
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) beat Sri Lanka 191/6 in 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 52, Hasini Perera 33; Vaishnavi Sharma 2-24, Arundhati Reddy 2-42) by 30 runs
