Shafali-Smriti show at Greenfield; India goes 4-0 up

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India with victory in all four T20Is played so far against Sri Lanka. Indian women won by 30 runs at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Chasing a target of 222 runs, Sri Lanka could only manage 191 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. The final match of the series will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.

Chasing a huge target, Sri Lanka got off to a good start with openers Hasini Perera 33(20) and captain Chamari Atapattu 52(37). However, the loss of wickets at regular intervals disrupted the Sri Lankan chase. The batsmen who were dismissed were Imesha Dulani 29(28), Harshita Samarawickrama 20(13), Kavisha Dilhari 13(8), and Rashmika Sevvanthi 5(4). Kaushani Nuthyangana 5*(2), and Nilakshi de Silva 23*(11) remained unbeaten. Arundhati Reddy and Vaishnavi Sharma took two wickets each for India, while Sree Charani took one wicket.

Batting first, India scored 221 runs for the loss of two wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Openers Smriti Mandhana 80 (48) and Shafali Verma 79 (46), who scored half-centuries, added 162 runs for the first wicket. Shafali hit 12 fours and a six, while Smriti hit 11 fours and three sixes. Meanwhile, the Indian opener also crossed the milestone of 10,000 runs in international cricket. Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh 40* (16) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur 16* (10) remained unbeaten.