Despite not losing too many wickets, it was the slow run-rate that ultimately saw Sri Lanka lose the match. With this win, India registered their fourth win on the trot.
After registering a hat trick of victories the Indian women’s team went one better on Wednesday as they won their fourth game on the trot after beating Sri Lanka by 16 runs. While it was not a comprehensive win for the Indians, but what mattered more is that it secured two more points and saw them stable at the second spot on the points table.
After winning the toss skipper Mithali Raj chose to bat. However, the openers never got going and they both departed cheaply. Smriti Mandhana who had grabbed eyeballs with match-winning innings of 90 and 106 respectively failed yet again. However, it was the captain, Mithali Raj along with Deepti Sharma who brought some semblance to the scoreboard as they forged an 118-run stand. The duo also brought up their respective half-centuries which ultimately helped India post a respectable total of 232. What was also noticeable was their running between the wickets as they converted singles into two’s and two’s into three’s. The Lankan bowlers despite being good with the ball did not perform up to the mark as they were also lacklustre in the field.
Chasing 233 for the win Sri Lanka began cautiously but it proved a wrong tactic as they lost opener Hasini Perera with the scoreboard on 17. Soon after that Chamari Attapatu, from whom a lot was expected was also sent back to the hut by Poonam Yadav. From there on the Lankan batsman went into a shell from which they could never recover. For India, it was Poonam Yadav and Jhulan Goswami who was the pick of the bowlers as they picked up a couple of wickets. It was their bowling which completely pegged back the Lankan batsman as they never got going. Only wicketkeeper Dilani Manodara stood out with the bat as she scored 61 which took Sri Lanka close to the winning total.
Despite not losing too many wickets, it was the slow run-rate that ultimately saw Sri Lanka lose the match. With this win, India asserted its dominance in the ongoing world cup. For her efforts with the bat and the ball, Deepti Sharma was deservedly awarded as the player of the match.
Squads
Sri Lanka: Inoka Ranaweera (c), Nipuni Hansika, Hasini Perera, Chamari Atapattu, Shashikala Siriwardene, Dilani Manodara (wk), Prasadani Weerakkody, Oshadi Ranasinghe, Chandima Gunaratne, Ama Kanchana, Sripali Weerakkody,
India: Punam Raut, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sushma Verma (wk), Jhulan Goswami, Mansi Joshi, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav.
Source: Cricket.com.pk