Girls are here! Indian women's cricket team gets rousing welcome in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian women's cricket team, crowned the world champions in ODIs, are here in God's Own Country to play the T20 series against Sri Lanka. The women's teams of India and Sri Lanka, who arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Wednesday evening, were given a warm welcome by the Kerala Cricket Association. A large number of fans were also stationed near the airport to welcome the stars. The fans welcomed captain Harmanpreet Kaur and the team with a big applause.

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Sneha Rana, Amanjot Kaur and Arundhati Reddy were all welcomed by ecstatic fans in Thiruvananthapuram. Smriti and some other players signed autographs. The players of India and Sri Lanka arrived from Vishakapatnam in a special flight for the first international women's cricket tournament in the capital city. At the airport, a team including Thiruvananthapuram District Cricket Association President Adv. KK Rajeev and Indian Malayali player Sajana Sajeevan officially welcomed the teams. The Sri Lankan team arrived under the leadership of Captain Chamari Athapaththu.

The Indian team, which won the first two matches held in Visakhapatnam, is leading the series 2-0. India's goal is to win the third match to be played at the Kariavattom Greenfield Stadium on Friday and clinch the series. On the other hand, Sri Lanka will be looking to win the game to keep their hopes alive in the series. The last two matches are on the 28th and 30th. The matches start at 7 pm. This is the first series that the Indian women's team are playing after their ODI World Cup triumph.

The world champions will be training in the capital on Thursday. The Indian team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will be training at the Kariavattom Green Field Stadium from 6 pm to 9 pm. The Sri Lankan team will be training from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Jemimah Rodrigues, the star player of the Indian women's team and World Cup hero, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, sought treatment at the hospital following ear pain. The player went to Ananthapuri Hospital from the airport. It was reported that the ear pain was not contagious but due to a minor infection.