Dominant India eye 4th successive win over Sri Lanka in T20I series
Formidable India will be eager to register a dominance-extending fourth victory on the bounce in the fourth Women’s T20I against Sri Lanka on Sunday. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team has not even given a chance to its Lankan counterparts to compete in this five-match series, which currently stands 3-0 in favour of the hosts.
It is evident in the fact that India, who chased in all three preceding matches, have not batted more than 14.4 overs, have not lost more than three wickets, and have never faced a target in excess of 129. The primary credit-holders for that overwhelming success are Indian bowlers. Seasoned spinner Deepti Sharma took four wickets across two matches, and Renuka Singh equalled that feat in a single match at the Greenfield Stadium on Friday.
The toss also might have played a small part as Harmanpreet called it right on all three occasions and elected to field, giving her bowlers a chance to operate in conditions with lesser dew. But the bowlers have maximised that opportunity spectacularly, not allowing any of the Sri Lankan batters to cross an individual 40 so far. In this series, India also have tried various combinations as well. Arundhati Reddy played the first two matches, while Renuka came in for her pace colleague in the next contest.
“We have been trying different combinations with the (T20) World Cup (2026) in mind. We want to keep our standards high after winning the (ODI) World Cup recently.” “And we want our standard and performance to remain high,” said Renuka in the post-match press conference. The Indian batters too have backed the bowlers with a crushing show with Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues leading the parade with a fifty each.
Mandhana eyes big outing
However, star batter Smriti Mndhana is yet to hit the overdrive, making 40 runs in three games at an average of 13.33 at a sub-100 strike rate. The graceful left-hander will be looking for a big outing that can bring more smiles her way. It also remains to be seen whether India will blood young batter Gunalan Kamalini and experienced Harleen Deol in this match. India have given a chance to all other 13 members of the squad, and the management might just want to have a look at the pair too.
SL look for redemption
Led by veteran Chamari Athapaththu, the Lankan batters have failed miserably in the series. Besides the skipper, the tourists have talents in the side like Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari and Harshitha Samarawickrama. But none of them have been able to produce a defining innings so far, and they would want one now to change the team’s fortunes.
