It was yet another easy stroll for India in the second T20I against Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday night. The Indian women brooked no challenge as they cruised to an easy seven-wicket win to go 2-0 up in the series and finish their back-to-back games in Visakhapatnam on a victorious note.
The first game they had won by eight wickets thanks to an unbeaten half-century by Jemimah Rodrigues. On Tuesday, it was the turn of opener Shafali Verma to hog the limelight. She scored an unbeaten 69 off 34 balls with 11 fours and a six as India replied with 129 for three with 49 balls to spare. With three more matches to go in the series, India have their tails up.
India had lost Smriti Mandhana (14) with 29 on the board but Shafali and Jemimah were in no mood to concede any advantage to the Lankans. The duo added 58 for the second wicket to snuff out the challenge. Jemimah made 26. Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (10) fell with one run needed for victory.
“At the start, the ball was holding a bit. I tried to play along the ground and work my way up. Sometimes, I don’t get time and balls to face and end up hitting out. I learnt today that I can keep the ball along the ground and still score. Cricket always teaches you things, it’s important to accept things. That’s the only way you can improve,” said Shafali, who was named Player of the Match.
“Really happy with the way we bowled. Bowlers took responsibility and put us into a good situation. Shafali and others batted well. We know what Rana can bring to the team, Deepti’s doing well for a long time. Really happy the way Vaishnavi bowled today, we missed a chance off her last game. We’re working really hard on fielding, things have gone wrong but today it came right. We had chats on setting standards with the way we bat. Everyone’s stepping up with a positive mindset,” said Harmanpreet.
Lanka batters falter against India bowlers
Earlier, Sri Lanka batters yet again put up a shoddy fight and caved in without much ado against the disciplined Indian attack.
After being asked to bat first by Harmanpreet, Sri Lanka had an early setback as they lost Vishmi Gunaratna with just one on the board. She was caught and bowled by Kranti Gaud for one.
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu and Hasini Perera steadied the rocking boat with a 36-run stand for the second wicket before Chamari made her exit. She was sent back by Sneh Rana, who had the most economical figures (1/11 in four overs) for the Indians.
Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama then took the score to 82 before Perera (22) was caught and bowled by Andhra Pradesh spinner Shree Charani.
Harshitha was run out for 33 and the visitors were reduced to four for 104. Thereafter, it was a free fall for the Lankans as they lost wickets at regular intervals. They lost three of their batters in the final over. Shree Charani took two for 23 and Vaishnavi Sharma, who made her debut in the previous game, got two for 32.
“We had a good powerplay but lost a couple of wickets, then struggled in the middle overs. India bowled according to their plans. Batters always played horizontal bat, which is an area for improvement. We have to score more than 150 while batting first, we’re trying to rotate strike more than hit boundaries, but we should do the latter more. This wicket was very good for batting, especially with dew,” said Lankan skipper Chamari.
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka: Vishmi Gunaratne c & b Gaud 1, Chamari Athapaththu c A Kaur b Rana 31, Hasini Perera c & b Charani 22, Harshitha Samarawickrama (run out) 33, Kavisha Dilhari c A Kaur b Charani 14, Nilakshika Silva c Charani b Sharma 2, Kaushini Nuthyangana (run out) 11, Shashini Gimhani c Mandhana b Sharma 0, Kawya Kavindi (run out) 1, Malki Madara (not out) 1; Extras: (B4, LB4, W4) 12. Total: (For nine wickets in 20 overs) 128.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-38, 3-82, 4-104, 5-109, 6-121, 7-122, 8-126, 9-128.
Bowling: Kranti Gaud 3-0-21-1, Arundhati Reddy 3-0-22-1, Sneh Rana 4-1-11-1, Amanjot Kaur 2-0-11-0, Vaishnavi Sharma 4-0-32-2, Shree Charani 4-0-23-2.
India: Smriti Mandhana c Kavindi b Dilhari 14, Shafali Verma (not out) 69, Jemimah Rodrigues c Dilhari b Kavindi 26, Harmanpreet Kaur b Madara 10, Richa Ghosh (not out) 1. Extras: (NB2, W7) 9. Total: (For 3 wickets in 11.5 overs) 129.
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-87, 3-128.
Bowling: Malki Madara 2.5-0-22-1, Kawya Kavindi 3-0-32-1, Kavisha Dilhari 2-0-15-1, Inoka Ranaweera 2-0-31-0, Chamari Athapaththu 1-0-17-0. Shashini Gimhani 1-0-12-0.
