India beat Sri Lanka in first Women’s T20I

Jemimah Rodrigues struck an unbeaten 69 to help India beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first of the five-match T20 International series on Sunday. Rodrigues was in fine form as she hit 10 fours from the 44 deliveries she faced, while opener Smriti Mandhana and captain Harmanpreet Kaur chipped in with 25 and 15 not out, as India chased down the target of 122 with 32 balls to spare.

Deepti Sharma (1/20), Kranti Gaud (1/23) and Shree Charani (1/30) took one wicket apiece for India while three Sri Lankan batters were run out after Harmanpreet won the toss and opted to bowl. Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored for Sri Lanka with 39 while Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama chipped in with 20 and 21 respectively. India are playing their first match since winning the ODI World Cup in November.

Earlier, India restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 121 for six after the visiting batters struggled to put away the loose balls in the first Women’s T20I in which dew has already had a say on Sunday. Opener Vishmi Guna-ratne top-scored for the visitors with a 43-ball 39, while Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama chipped in with 20 and 21 respectively.

Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu got into the act straightaway, clipping an innocuous Kranti Gaud delivery off her pads for a four. Player of the Series in India’s triumphant campaign in the recent ODI World Cup, Deepti Sharma (1/20 in 4 overs) dived to keep what looked like a certain boundary to just one run in the next over, before Athapaththu got two fours in three balls off Gaud.

The left-handed Athap-aththu’s aggressive approach forced Gaud to go around the wicket and the young seamer struck with a change in angle, the ball going through the gap between bat and pad to disturb the Sri Lankan captain’s stumps and give India their first breakthrough. Hasini found a boundary when she worked a Gaud delivery towards the deep fine leg region before home skipper Harmanpreet Kaur introduced Deepti inside the powerplay.

Hasini missed out on a couple of loose balls to help Deepti start with a maiden, which saw the Islanders remain at 31 for one at the end of powerplay. Bowling a lot slower than her other left-arm spin colleague Shree Charani, debutant Vaishnavi Sharma (0/16 in 4 overs) began her journey in international cricket with a tidy spell. The 20-year-old conceded just three runs in her first over.

Hasini played a premeditated reverse sweep to collect a four off Shree Charani, who spilled a relatively straightforward chance at short fine leg in the next over to give the Lankan batter a reprieve. Had Charani held on to that ball, it would have given Vaishnavi his maiden wicket. Desperately looking for quick runs, Hasini, however, fell in the next over when she played the ball to Gaud at short third after attempting a reverse sweep against Deepti.

Dew was already setting in and even though the India bowlers were struggling to grip the ball, they did exceedingly well to keep Sri Lanka at 55 for two in the first 10 overs. Having a bad day on the field, Charani then dropped Harshitha Madavi off Arundhati Reddy. India’s players during the first Women’s T20I cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam.