The home side, Sri Lanka, led by skipper Chamari Athapaththu, defeated South Africa by a comfortable margin of five wickets to get their first victory in the ongoing Tri-Nation ODI series.
Sri Lanka were keen to ride on the momentum as they faced India, led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, in the 4th match of the series at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Both sides retained the same starting 11 that took the field in their previous encounter.
Middle-order contributions led by Richa Ghosh’s fifty guide India to 275/9
The Indian openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal got their side off to a steady start with a 51-run opening partnership after the Sri Lankan skipper won the toss and inserted them to bat first. An unfortunate run-out ended Smriti Mandhana’s stay at the crease in her 100th ODI game for India in the 10th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka. Pratika Rawal (35 off 39 balls) soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the home side.
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Harleen Deol at the crease, and the duo led some sort of a recovery with a much-needed 42-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Dewmi Vihanga broke the stand, by sending Harleen Deol (29 off 35 balls) back to the pavilion in the 21st over of the innings, providing the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
There were decent partnerships throughout the innings courtesy of solid contributions right throughout the middle-order. The Women in Blue eventually posted a decent total of 275/9 in their quota of 50 overs. The wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (58 off 48 balls) top-scored with the bat, completing her 6th ODI half-century. Jemimah Rodrigues (37 off 46 balls), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (30 off 45 balls), Deepti Sharma (24 off 30 balls), and Kashvee Gautam (17 off 11 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for India.
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu (10-1-43-3) and Sugandika Kumari (10-0-44-3) picked up three wickets each, while Inoka Ranaweera (8-0-42-1) and Dewmi Vihanga (10-0-54-1) played a crucial role with the ball for Sri Lanka.
Nilakshika Silva’s counterattacking fifty gives Sri Lanka a memorable win
Chasing a target of 276, the Sri Lankan openers, Vishmi Gunaratne and Hasini Perera, got their side off to a steady start with a 30-run opening partnership. A run-out ended Hasini Perera’s stay at the crease to provide the first breakthrough for India in the 8th over of the run chase.
Harshitha Samarawickrama joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease, and the pair stitched a much-needed 78-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 120-run mark. Arundhati Reddy broke the stand, by sending Vishmi Gunaratne (33 off 58 balls) back to the pavilion in the 23rd over of the run chase to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for her side.
A crucial 57-run partnership for the 5th wicket between Kavisha Dilhari (35 off 32 balls) and Nilakshika Silva (56 off 33 balls) kept them in the hunt in the run chase. The home side, Sri Lanka, eventually got over the line with three wickets in hand and five balls to spare. A crucial 40-run partnership for the 8th wicket between wicket-keeper batter Anushka Sanjeewani (23* off 18 balls) and Sugandika Kumari (19* off 20 balls) gave Sri Lanka their 2nd consecutive victory.
Sneh Rana (10-0-45-3) was the top performer with the ball for India, while Arundhati Reddy (9-0-55-1), Nallapureddy Shree Charani (10-0-69-1), and Pratika Rawal (5.1-0-32-1) got the crucial scalp of Harshitha Samarawickrama. Nilakshika Silva was awarded the Player of the Match for her crucial innings with the bat, playing a crucial role as Sri Lanka sealed consecutive victories in the Tri-Nation series.
Loves all things female cricket