Jemimah Rodrigues’ unbeaten half-century, backed by a disciplined bowling performance, guided India Women to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka Women in the first T20I of the five-match series at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The victory gave India a 1-0 lead in the series.
Chasing a modest target of 122, India reached 122/2 in 14.4 overs. Jemimah continued her strong run of form, scoring 69 not out off 44 balls, including 10 fours. She brought up her half-century off 34 deliveries and anchored the chase after India lost opener Shafali Verma early for 9.
Jemimah added 54 runs for the second wicket with Smriti Mandhana, who scored 25 off 25 balls. Mandhana struck four boundaries before being caught at deep extra cover off Inoka Ranaweera. During her knock, Mandhana became only the second woman to cross 4,000 runs in T20Is and the fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls faced.
Jemimah then shared an unbroken 55-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who remained unbeaten on 15, to seal the win comfortably.
Earlier, after opting to field, India Women restricted Sri Lanka to 121/6 in 20 overs. The Indian bowlers kept the scoring rate under control despite heavy dew and some lapses in the field.
Sri Lanka struggled to gain momentum after losing captain Chamari Athapaththu for 15 in the fourth over. They managed only 31/1 in the powerplay. Vishmi Gunaratne was the top scorer for the visitors with 39 off 43 balls, but she found it difficult to accelerate and was eventually run out in the 18th over.
Hasini Perera (20 off 23) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (21 off 23) got starts but failed to convert them into substantial scores. Sri Lanka crossed 100 only in the 18th over and were also hurt by three run-outs.
For India, Kranti Gaud (1/23), Deepti Sharma (1/20) and N. Shree Charani (1/30) picked up a wicket each. Deepti was the most economical, conceding just 10 runs in her first three overs, while debutant Vaishavi Sharma impressed with figures of 0/16 from four overs.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka Women 121/6 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 39, Harshitha Samarawickrama 21; Deepti Sharma 1/20)
India Women 122/2 in 14.4 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 69*, Smriti Mandhana 25); India won by eight wickets.
(With agency inputs)
