New Delhi: Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana starred with the bat before the bowlers produced an excellent all-round effort to help India hammer Sri Lanka by 86 runs in their 3rd group-stage clash in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Wednesday, October 09. India’s massive victory helped them improve their net run rate drastically to boost their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament.
It was a much-needed comprehensive victory for India in the must-win game after 1 loss and 1 win in their first two matches in the tournament. India’s net run rate took a huge hit after their crushing 58-run defeat against New Zealand in their opener and they need to ensure they win by a big margin against Sri Lanka.
India did exactly that with a brilliant all-round display to improve their net run rate and enhance their chances of progressing to the knockout stages. Opting to bat first after winning the toss, openers Mandhana and Shafali Verma combined to get India off to a good start. The duo started steadily but finished strongly as they shared a magnificent 98-run stand for the first wicket.
While Shafali finished with 43 off 40 balls studded with 4 boundaries, Mandhana looked in great touch as she slammed a quickfire 50 off 38 deliveries laced with 4 fours and six. The left-hander became the 3rd Indian to complete 500 runs in the Women’s T20 World Cup en route to her 26th half-century in T20Is. The partnership between Mandhana and Shafali set the tone before Harmanpreet added the finishing touches with the fastest fifty by an Indian batter in Women’s T20Is.
Harmanpreet Kaur goes all guns blazing
Harmanpreet went all guns blazing against Sri Lanka as she smashed the fastest fifty by an Indian in the shortest format off just 27 balls. The Indian skipper scored an unbeaten 52 off 27 balls with the help of 8 fours and a solitary six to power the Women in Blue to a strong total of 172/3 in 20 overs, the highest team total in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 so far.
After India lost Mandhana and Shafali on successive deliveries, Harmanpreet took control of the proceedings and batted Sri Lanka out of the game. She combined with Jemimah Rodrigues to add 30 runs for the 3rd wicket before sharing an unbeaten 44-run stand for the 4th wicket with wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh, who scored 6 runs off 6 balls.
Indian bowlers keep Sri Lanka quiet
The Indian bowlers came up with a brilliant combined effort to keep the Sri Lankan batters at bay and wrap up a big win for the Harmanpreet-led side. Continuing her fine form, pacer Renuka Singh struck in the very first over to get rid of Sri Lanka opener Vishmi Gunaratne on a duck in the very first over before dismissing no.1 Harshitha Samarawickrama cheaply on 3 runs.
Shreyanka Patil managed to get the big fish Chamari Athapaththu, who was caught by Deepti Sharma after managing just 1 run off 3 balls. There was no coming back for Sri Lanka after the experienced Athapaththu’s dismissal as Indian bowlers ran riot. Pacer Arundhati Reddy and spinner Asha Sobhana picked up three wickets each to run through the Sri Lankan batting line-up and skittle them out for a paltry 90 runs in 19.5 overs.
India were also on top of their game on the field with substitute Radha Yadav plucking a couple of excellent catches to set the tone for a much-needed big win for the team. With the victory, India jumped to the 2nd spot on the Group A points table with 4 points and a net run rate of +0.576. They will face defending champions Australia in a must-win final group game on Sunday, October 13.
A win against Australia will keep India in contention for the top four while a defeat might all but confirm their exit from the tournament.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana played stupendous knocks to help India thrash Sri Lanka by 82 runs in their 3rd group-stage clash in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. India kept their semi-final hopes intact with the huge win against Sri Lanka. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
