Sri Lanka stun India to register second consecutive win

Chamari Athapaththu celebrates the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues

Richa Ghosh top-scored for India Women with 58

• Player of the Match Nilakshika Silva celebrates her half-century

  Harshitha Samarawickrama scored back-to-back fifties

  Women’s ODI Tri-Series

Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning three-wicket win over India to register their second win of the Women’s ODI Tri-Series and inch closer to a place in the final, at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

It was only the third time in 34 attempts that Sri Lanka have beaten India in ODIs, with the last win being achieved in 2018.

The celebrations in the Sri Lankan dugout as soon as the winning run was struck by Anushka Sanjeewani showed how much the win meant to them. Sri Lanka were clearly the better side yesterday and they pulled one back over the Indians, who beat them in comprehensive fashion in the first game of the tournament.

Earlier, after being asked to bat, India managed to post 275-9, which was about 20-25 short of what they would have liked. They lost their way in the last 10 overs. 

Sri Lanka were always in control of the chase. Harshitha Samarawickrama batted superbly at number 3 for her 61-ball 53 (5 fours) to set it up, and contributions came throughout the order – with the most vital one coming from Player of the Match Nilakshika Silva, who plundered a 33-ball 56 (5 fours, 3 sixes) to set Sri Lanka on the victory path. Silva put the pedal to the metal and struck boundaries at will to hunt down and surpass the asking rate before eventually falling. Her partnership of 57 off 38 with Kavisha Dilhari (35 off 32) took the game away from India. By then, the game was firmly in Sri Lanka’s grasp and both Sanjeewani (23*) and Sugandika Kumari (19*) ensured they carried it through without fumbling in an unbroken eighth wicket stand of 40. India had several missed chances in the field and it made a big difference in the end.

India squandered an opportunity to pile on the runs in the final 10 overs after being asked to bat first. The platform was laid out by the top order, who kept scoring at a steady pace. While Sri Lanka got timely wickets, starting with the run-out of Smriti Mandhana, the Indian batters batted with relative freedom on what looked like a sluggish surface. With the platform set for take-off, Richa Ghosh got into her act and top-scored with a 48-ball 58 (5 fours, 3 sixes). However, once she fell in the 44th over, the rest of India’s order failed to kick on and folded. Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu showed her hand with the ball, picking up two in an over to further dent India’s momentum. She finished with 3/43, which went well with Kumari’s 3/44.

“We played positive cricket in the last game and today as well. Really happy as a Captain – the youngsters led from the front and played their best cricket. We are ready for anything,” said Sri Lanka’s victorious Captain Athapaththu. “Can’t predict the toss. If we bat first, we will try to score 250 runs, that’s our target. Haven’t been in the best form for the past two games, that’s why I stepped down the order and played a different role. As a senior player, I have to lead from the front – that’s important. I’ve played for 15 years and haven’t bowled much. These days I’m bowling more. Try to keep it simple and on the stumps, that’s my mantra.”

Indian Captain Harmanpreet Kaur said that Sri Lanka batted really well. “They didn’t give us many opportunities. Even when they gave us opportunities, we didn’t really hold on to them. We were a bowler short as well since Kashvee Gautam wasn’t there. The way Richa was batting, we thought we’ll cross 280 easily but after the wicket, we couldn’t execute like we expected to. Her wicket was the turning point. We weren’t able to get breakthroughs in the first 10 overs. We’re still doing well in batting, but bowling is something we need to work on.”

India play South Africa in the next match on Wednesday. South Africa are without a win in the tournament.

Scores: 

India Women 275-9 (50) (Pratika Rawal 35, Harleen Deol 29, Harmanpreet Kaur 30, Jemimah Rodrigues 37, Richa Ghosh 58, Deepti Sharma 24, Sugandika Kumari 3/44, Chamari Athapaththu 3/43)

Sri Lanka Women 278-7 (49.1) (Hasini Perera 22, Vishmi Gunaratne 33, Harshitha Samarawickrama 53, Chamari Athapaththu 23, Kavisha Dilhari 35, Nilakshika Silva 56, Anushka Sanjeewani 23*, Sugandika Kumari 19*, Sneh Rana 3/45)