Shafali Verma’s blazing knock helped India cruise to a 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I in Visakhapatnam.
After winning the toss, Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bowl first once again. They made one change, bringing in Sneh Rana, as Deepti Sharma missed out due to illness.
Despite losing Vishmi Gunaratne in the first over, Sri Lanka started well with Chamari Athapaththu playing some attractive strokes. However, Sneh Rana got the better of the Sri Lankan skipper as the visitors lost both openers inside the powerplay. Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama added 44 runs for the third wicket, but once the stand was broken, the home side began to chip in with regular wickets.
- Rodrigues unbeaten 69 steers India to winning start
- Historic payday for Pathirana as three Sri Lankans fetch deals at IPL mini auction
- Sri Lanka Women’s T20I squad announced for India tour
Sri Lanka’s innings saw three run-outs, including Samarawickrama, who top-scored with 33, as they ended on 128/9 in their 20 overs. Shree Charani picked up 2 for 23, while Vaishnavi Sharma also bagged two scalps, including her maiden international wicket.
Indian openers got them off to a flyer before Kavisha Dilhari struck with her first delivery to dismiss Smriti Mandhana in the fourth over. Shafali Verma made the most of the field restrictions as India raced to 68 in the first six overs.
Verma continued to bat in a destructive manner while sharing 58 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues and then 41 runs with Harmanpreet Kaur, which almost took them home. In the process, the opening batter reached her fifty off just 27 balls before India got over the line in just 11.5 overs.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishmi Gunaratne | c & b Kranti Goud | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Chamari Athapaththu | c Amanjot Kaur b Sneh Rana | 31 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 129.17 |
| Hasini Perera | c & b Shree Charani | 22 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 78.57 |
| Harshitha Samarawickrama | run out (Amanjot Kaur) | 33 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 103.12 |
| Kavisha Dilhari | c Amanjot Kaur b Shree Charani | 14 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Nilakshi de Silva | c & b | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Kaushani Nuthyangana | run out (Kranti Goud) | 11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 122.22 |
| Shashini Gimhani | c Smriti Mandhana b Vaishnavi Sharma | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kawya Kavindi | run out (Shree Charani) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Malki Madara | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 12 (b 4 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 4, pen 0) |
| Total | 128/9 (20 Overs, RR: 6.4) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kranti Goud | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 7.00 | |
| Arundhati Reddy | 3 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7.33 | |
| Sneh Rana | 4 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 2.75 | |
| Amanjot Kaur | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Vaishnavi Sharma | 4 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 8.00 | |
| Shree Charani | 4 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 5.75 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smriti Mandhana | c Kawya Kavindi b Kavisha Dilhari | 14 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 127.27 |
| Shafali Verma | not out | 69 | 34 | 11 | 1 | 202.94 |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | c Kavisha Dilhari b Kawya Kavindi | 26 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 173.33 |
| Harmanpreet Kaur | b Malki Madara | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Richa Ghosh | not out | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 2, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 129/3 (11.5 Overs, RR: 10.9) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malki Madara | 2.5 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 8.80 | |
| Kawya Kavindi | 3 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 10.67 | |
| Kavisha Dilhari | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 7.50 | |
| Inoka Ranaweera | 2 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 15.50 | |
| Chamari Athapaththu | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17.00 | |
| Shashini Gimhani | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 12.00 | |
India took a 2–0 lead in the five-match T20I series, with the third match set to be played on Boxing Day (26th December) at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Catch the action LIVE on Sri Lanka’s No.1 sports channel, available on ThePapare.com.
