India’s opener Shafali Verma struck an unbeaten 69 as the hosts cruised to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka Women in the second T20I at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
India completed the chase with 49 balls to spare after restricting Sri Lanka to 128 for nine, with left-arm spinner Shree Charani playing a key role with figures of 2 for 23. Vaishnavi Sharma also picked up two wickets, while Kranti Gaud and Sneh Rana chipped in with one apiece.
Put in to bat, Sri Lanka struggled to build momentum despite a brief resistance from captain Chamari Athapaththu, who scored 31 off 24 balls, including two sixes. Harshitha Samarawickrama top-scored with 33 before being run out, while Hasini Perera made 22. Sri Lanka lost wickets regularly in the latter half of the innings and failed to accelerate at the death.
India’s reply was dominated by Shafali, who reached her half-century off just 27 balls and finished with 11 fours and a six in her 34-ball knock. Smriti Mandhana made 14 at the top, while Jemimah Rodrigues added a brisk 26 off 15 balls as India raced to 113 inside the first 10 overs, their highest 10-over total in women’s T20Is.
Harmanpreet Kaur scored 10 before falling, and Richa Ghosh hit the winning run as India finished on 129 for three in 11.5 overs. The win was India’s second-largest over Sri Lanka in women’s T20Is in terms of balls remaining.
The third match of the series will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
