India Women vs Sri Lanka Women HIGHLIGHTS, 3rd T20I: Chamari fifty helps SL beat IND for consolation win, end series 2-1

Hello and welcome to the coverage of India’s tour of Sri Lanka. This was Lalith Kalidas bringing you the updates from the 3rd T20I between the two sides in Dambulla.

A comprehensive outing for the host in this final game. Chamari Athapaththu leads the way in style with a cracking knock. Sri Lanka’s intent in the chase was commendable as they plugged all gaps post the PowerPlay, denying Indiia any inroads during the cruise to 139.

SL 141/3 in 17 overs: Yadav bowls flat to the pads and Athapaththu sweeps it fine and a misfield from Mandhana costs FOUR runs. In the air and Meghana drops a regulation catch of Chamari at short-third. Sri Lanka, two runs away.  Chamari tucks the ball fine down leg and it races for FOUR. Sri Lanka beats India by 7 wickets as the visitor locks the series 2-1.

SL 128/3 in 16 overs: Chamari and Dilhari continue to nudge the gaps for singles. Shoddy line from Renuka as she strays to the pads and Chamari nonchalantly puts it past short fine-leg for FOUR. Sri Lanka, nearly home.

SL 121/3 in 15 overs: Yadav floats the ball in and Chamari unleashes the slog-sweep for FOUR. The bowler is distraught and so are her teammates as Sri Lanka continues to punish the visitor. Chamari push the ball to the deep on the off-side and attempts for a risky second run. De Silva puts in a desperate full-length dive but marginally falls short as Deepti Sharma flicks the bails at the non-striker’s end. A fine knock from De Silva comes to an end as Dilhari walks in.  Chamari drives the ball to long-on for a single. Yadav tosses into the slot once again and Chamari won’t let her go. A powerful swing do the ground hands her another FOUR runs.

Nilakshi de Silva run out (Vastrakar/Sharma) 30 (28b 4×4)

SL 109/2 in 14 overs: Renuka returns. Renuka hits the fuller length and Chamari retorts with a flourishing punch down the ground for FOUR. A single follows. FOUR more! Renuka rolls in a slower-ball outside the off-stump and De Silva opens the face of the bat to send the ball past short-third for a boundary.

SL 100/2 in 13 overs: Shafali’s lack of pace keeps the batters rooted to the crease. Four dots and a loose short ball is pumped through mid-wicket for FOUR. 100 up for Sri Lanka and the match continues to slip away from India’s grasp.

Shafali Verma into the attack

SL 95/2 in 12 overs: In the air and Chamari is dropped at deep mid-wicket! A tough chance there for Jemimah who covers a lot of ground but the ball bolts through her hand for FOUR. Short from Bahadur and Chamari slashes it past point for FOUR and brings up her FIFTY in 29 balls!

SL 84/2 in 11 overs: Kaur tightens up her lengths this time. No fuss from Chamari and De Silva who resort to singles.

Sri Lanka needs 58 runs in 60 balls

SL 81/2 in 10 overs: Slower-ball in the slot and De Silva swings through the arc and takes the ball to the wide long-on fence for FOUR. Excellent running between the wickets by De Silva and Chamari as they reel in nine runs from the over.

Simran Bahadur into the attack

SL 72/2 in 9 overs: Kaur strays to the pads and Chamari swivels to push the ball past short fine leg for FOUR. Athapaththu takes a quick single after slicing the ball to short-third.

Harmanpreet Kaur replaces Radha Yadav

SL 62/2 in 8 overs: Slower-ball from Vastrakar and De Silva whacks it past the non-striker for FOUR. A single to follow. Short and width on offer and Chamari slaps the ball over point for FOUR. India has been pushed to the backfoot with Chamari’s onslaught.

Pooja Vastrakar into the attack

SL 53/2 in 7 overs: FIFTY up for Sri Lanka. Athapaththu has approached the chase with a cool heads despite the loss of two wickets.

SL 47/2 in 6 overs: Deepti continues and Athapaththu goes straight after the bowler for a huge SIX down the ground. Deepti retains her composure as Sri Lanka ends the PowerPlay on a fine note.

SL 38/2 in 5 overs: Radha slides the ball in on length and Athapaththu drives it through cover for her third FOUR of the innings. Radha tosses one in and Athapaththu unleashes the slog-sweep for another FOUR behind square leg. Radha to Harshitha. OUT! In the bid for big runs, Harshitha holes to Mandhana at deep mid-wicket. A wicket against the run of play here as Nilakshi De Silva walks in.

Harshitha Samarawickrama c Mandhana b Yadav 13 (14b 2×4)

Radha Yadav into the attack. Starts from over the wicket to Chamari.

SL 28/1 in 4 overs: A loopy delivery on the full and Harshitha drives it straight down the ground past mid-off for FOUR. Deepti tosses one up again and Harshitha sweeps the ball over square-leg for three runs. Deepti goes full and wide and Chamari slices the ball past backward point for another FOUR. Even better this time. Chamari advances to the ball from around the wicket and crunches it over extra cover for FOUR.

SL 12/1 in 3 overs: Renuka Singh drops short and Harshitha laps the ball over short fine-leg for FOUR. Renuka corrects her line to keep Chamari cramped for the cut through point as Yastika stands up to the stumps.

SL 7/1 in 2 overs: Probing start from Deepti against Harshitha. Pins the batter down with five dots and a close stumping shout before Harshitha retains strike with a single.

Deepti Sharma into the attack

SL 5/1 in 1 over: Renuka to Vishmi. OUT! A superb catch from Harmanpreet who runs back from mid-on to hold onto a tough chance. Early jolt there for Sri Lanka as the promising departs after finding the boundary early on.

Vishmi Gunaratne c Kaur b Renuka Singh 5 (5b 1×4)

The chase begins. Vishmi Gunaratne and Chamari Athapaththu at the crease. Renuka Singh up with the new ball.

IND 138/5 in 20 overs: Athapaththu tosses the ball outside-off and Harmanpreet steps out to pummel the ball through deep cover for FOUR. A single to deep mid-wicket follows. Vastrakar charges down and lofts the ball over extra cover for another FOUR. Athapaththu dips the ball into the pads and Vastrakar manages to drill it to wide long-on. A misfield before the fence ensures FOUR runs. More misery for the De Silva at long-on as she drops a catch but a throw from the deep eventually has Vastrakar short of her crease at the non-striker’s end off the last ball.

Pooja Vastrakar run out (Athapaththu) 13 (6b 2×4)

IND 122/4 in 19 overs: Kanchana to Rodrigues. OUT! Jemimah aims to scoop the ball but hits it straight to the short fine-leg fielder. An excellent innings of 33 comes to an end as Pooja Vastrakar walks in.  Kanchana continues to keep the full and straight onto the stumps, leaving no room for the batters to cash in on. Excellent improvisation from Harmanpreet as she slices the ball from the blockhole past short-third for FOUR.

Jemimah Rodrigues c Gunaratne b Kanchana 33 (30b 3×4)

IND 115/3 in 18 overs: Chamari slides one in and beats Jemimah as she charges down. Missed stumping by Sanjeewani as she fails to latch onto the ball behind the stumps.

Chamari Athapaththu into the attack

IND 110/3 in 17 overs: Ranaweera tosses up into the slot and Harmanpreet shimmies down the track to thump the ball over long-off for SIX! 50-run partnership for Harman and Jemimah. They have revived the innings with some adept batting against the Lankan bowlers.

IND 98/3 in 16 overs: Rodrigues in Harmanpreet reel in four singles. Dilhari wafts the ball outside off-stump and Jemimah waltzes it through extra cover for FOUR.

IND 89/3 in 15 overs: Ranaweera returns. Harmanpreet quietly switching gears as she sweeps Ranaweera for FOUR behind square. Five overs to go, can India move past 130 from here?

IND 81/3 in 14 overs: Rodrigues and Harmanpreet keep themselves busy with some proactive running between the wickets. Dilhari errs on length and Rodrigues whacks the ball over the bowler for FOUR. Nine runs from the over.

IND 72/3 in 13 overs: Kumari returns. Athapaththu has been constantly shuffling through her bowlers. Harmanpreet attempts to break the shackles with a heave across the line and the ball nearly finds the deep mid-wicket fielder on the full. Another tight over as India struggles to find the fence. There we go! A low full-toss outside the off-stump and Jemimah Rodrigues thumps it past cover for FOUR.

IND 64/3 in 12 overs: Oshadi slides the ball in on the length and Harmanpreet attempts a sweep. The ball springs past the bat to hit Harmanpreet on the helmet and we have a pause in play as the concussion check takes place. Kaur seems fine as the physio comes out.  Seems alright and we’re back. Oshadi continues to work with her pace and dips and nearly wraps one on Jemimah’s pads with a loopy dipping delivery as the batter attempts a sweep.

IND 60/3 in 11 overs: Kanchana pins the batters with a fine line of attack. Harmanpreet and Jemimah poke about for a slew of singles. Sri Lanka has done well to dry up the boundaries.

Kanchana returns

IND 56/3 in 10 overs: A fine start for Dilhari, pushing the new batters back to the crease in her first over. Just the four runs from it as we reach the half-way mark.

Kavisha Dilhari into the attack

IND 52/3 in 9 overs: FIFTY for India as Harmanpreet gets off the mark with a single to long-on. Ranaweera to Meghana. OUT! A couple of dots induces the pressure and Meghana charges down to lob the ball straight to cover. India finds itself in a spot of bother as two wickets fall in successive overs. Jemimah Rodrigues in at 5.

Sabbhineni Meghana c Athapaththu b Ranaweera 22 (26b 3×4)

IND 49/2 in 8 overs: Oshadi to Mandhana. OUT! Mandhana perishes to a fine catch by de Silva at long-off. Mandhana looked to decent wood on the ball but it failed to go the distance as Oshadi strikes on return. Harmanpreet Kaur in at 4.

Smriti Mandhana c de Silva b Ranasinghe 22 (21b 3×4)

IND 46/1 in 7 overs: Mandhana shimmies down the track even as Ranaweera darts the ball wide of off. She nonchalantly pummels it over extra cover for FOUR and is seemingly back in her positive strides. Mandhana lofts the ball over mid-wicket for a single.  Meghana works the ball across extra cover for a couple of runs and India is slowly lifting its scoring rate.

Inoka Ranaweera into the attack

IND 37/1 in 6 overs: Kanchana hits the slot and Meghana smokes it over the bowler for FOUR.  Mandhana still struggling to find her feet. And right on cue, Mandhana picks up the slower-ball on the fuller length and caresses it through point for FOUR at the end of the PowerPlay.

Kanchana returns

IND 27/1 in 5 overs: Kumari touches full and Meghana smacks it through cover for another FOUR. Meghana aims to walk down the track and Kumari quickly darts the ball into the blockhole. A couple of dots before Meghana finds the single. Mandhana attempts a slog-sweep and finds the fielder in the deep as she crosses over for another single.

IND 21/1 in 4 overs: Ranasinghe starts from around the wicket. Short delivery and Mandhan shifts to the backfoot and slices the ball through point for FOUR. A single follows. Ranasinghe does well to regain her line. Six runs from the over as the Indians maintain a watchful approach.

Oshadi Ranasinghe replaces Kanchana

IND 15/1 in 3 overs: Kumari continues. A little on the shorter side and Mandhana punches it to deep mid-wicket for a single. Meghana heaves but gets an inside-edge through square for one run. Kumari overpitches and Meghana creams it through extra cover for FOUR.

IND 8/1 in 2 overs: Kanchana tails the ball into Mandhana’s pads and she flicks it down to deep mid-wicket for a single. Kanchana finding some movement aided by the strong breeze across the field. Excellent over, just the single conceded from it.

Ama Kanchana into the attack

IND 7/1 in 1 over: Mandhana and Shafali are off the blocks with a couple of singles. Three full-tosses from Kumari and Mandhana puts the third one to deep mid-wicket for another single. Another full-toss and Shafali steps out to attack but takes the outside-edge past short-third for FOUR. In the air and Shafali holes out to cover! Sheepish dismissal for the opener as Kumari wafts the ball outside the off-stump. Shafali dances down to take the aerial route but miscues it straight to Athapaththu. Sabbhineni Meghana in at 3.

Shafali Verma c Athapaththu b Kumari 5 (4b 1×4)

Action begins! Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma at the crease. Left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari up with the new ball.

1:30PM: PREVIEW

The series already in their pocket, a confident India will look to complete a whitewash when they take on hosts Sri Lanka in the third and final women’s T20 International here on Monday.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led outfit had thrashed the home team by 34 runs in the opening T20 and then followed it up with a dominating five-wicket win in the second game to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

More importantly, the wins will be a morale booster for India ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham starting next month, where women’s T20 cricket is set to make its debut.

India seem to have found the winning momentum, but it won’t be entirely pleased with its performance in the series so far.

While the bowlers have done a stellar job in the two games, India’s batting has left a lot to be desired.

Additionally, the Indians have been sloppy on the field.

READ |
Smriti Mandhana all praise for young Indian bowlers

The bowling unit has been on the mark for India. The spinners have been sensational, making full use of the slow nature of the pitch. They had comfortably defended 138 in the opening game.

Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu (43) and opener Vishmi Gunaratne (45) presented the Indian bowling unit with a challenge as the duo put up a 87-run stand in the second game.

But the Indian bowlers made a strong comeback as they gave just 14 runs in the last 3.1 overs while claiming six wickets to restrict Sri Lanka to a below-par 125.

But the visitor was made to work hard for what should have been a comfortable chase.

Shafali Verma (17), Sabbhineni Meghana (17) and Yastika Bhatia (13) were unable to convert their starts.

The team’s top scorer in the previous game Jemimah Rodrigues (3) also perished cheaply and will aim for consistency.

After stuttering in the first game, prolific opener Smriti Mandhana roared back to form, her 39 off 34 balls helped the tourists win the match and the series.

Mandhana was complemented by Harmanpreet (31 not out), who is now India’s leading T20I run scorer. The all-rounder played a captain’s knock guiding her side over the line while also pitching in with the ball.

Sri Lanka will be desperately hoping to avoid a second consecutive whitewash, having gone down to Pakistan 0-3 in a T20 series recently.

The host will seek to perform as a cohesive unit and grab a consolation win, which will lift its spirit heading into the three-match ODI series, starting Friday.

For that they need more contributions with the bat while their bowlers will also need to support the spin duo of Inoka Ranaweera and Oshadi Ranasinghe, who have done most of the the task with the ball for the side till now.

1:15PM: While we wait for the game to begin, guess who is on the cover of Sportstar magazine this coming fortnight? Get your copy here.

SQUADS

Where to watch India vs Sri Lanka 2nd WT20I?

Sri Lanka Cricket on Wednesday announced that the limited-overs home series against India, beginning on Thursday, will be streamed live on the cricket board’s official YouTube channel and will be broadcast on Dialog 1.

After dilly-dally, late on Wednesday, it was announced that FanCode will stream the series for free in India.

There were no clarity until Wednesday evening on whether the cricket fans in India will be able to watch the tournament live on television as the SLC claimed that for overseas platforms, “discussions are still on”.

In the pre-match media interaction, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur hinted that some last moment arrangements were being made for the series to be broadcast.

Fancode will stream the matches of India’s Tour of Sri Lanka for Indian audiences. The streaming is free.

“As far I know, it is being broadcast live. I was informed today that there were some last-minute plans to ensure that it is broadcast,” Harmanpreet said.

Since 2017, only two series involving India have not had full broadcast – the first being the India tour of South Africa in 2018, which was broadcast partially, followed by the India tour of Sri Lanka in 2018.

The T20I series will be played in Dambulla from Thursday, followed by the ODI series, a part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, in Pallekele between July 1 to 7.

Follow our complete coverage of India Women’s tour of Sri Lanka on Sportstar.