Victory for India was set up by Harmanpreet: At the Dubai International Stadium, India displayed their batting prowess and exacted 82 runs of revenge for their Asia Cup defeat to Sri Lanka. In the penultimate round of the Group A matches, India’s victory margin—the most (by runs) in Women’s T20 World Cups—was sufficient to raise their Net Run Rate over that of New Zealand, with whom they may have to contend for a semifinal position. After losing three games in a row, Sri Lanka was also eliminated as a result.
The finest batsmen in India raised the stakes following a few lackluster batting displays to begin the competition. Shafali Verma set the tone for the innings with 43 in an opening partnership of 98, but captain Harmanpreet Kaur (52* off 27) and her deputy Smriti Mandhana (50 off 38) hit magnificent half-centuries. Despite facing batting anxieties prior to this game, Sri Lanka was unable to overcome the formidable total of 172/3, which is the highest in the tournament.
After deciding to go first, India took their time getting going. Verma scored the team’s first boundary about halfway through the third over when he chipped a delivery from Udeshika Prabodhani over extra cover. Before her partner Mandhana broke the chains in the last over of the Powerplay, she found a boundary in each of the next two overs. The Indian vice-captain created space and blasted Sugandika Kumari down the ground for a boundary to give India a 41-run PowerPlay after making just eight of her first twelve deliveries.
That shot would ultimately come to characterize Mandhana’s performance for the evening. Mandhana went through her gears by moving away to allow herself enough leverage to drive even balls pitched outside leg-stump, inside-out over extra cover after hitting India’s first six of the tournament by lofting Inoka Ranaweera over long-on. Following the PowerPlay, India scored 37 runs in the first four overs, with Mandhana surpassing her quick-starting partner.
After a 98-run opening partnership, Mandhana and Verma—who had tied the record with 20 stands of 50 or more runs in Twenty20 Internationals—were ultimately split in the 13th over when the former was run-out two balls after reaching a 36-ball half-century. When Verma attempted to flick a delivery from Chamari Athapaththu across the line, he was dismissed the very next ball after getting a leading edge to point.
Victory for India was set up by Harmanpreet, Mandhana, and Shafali:
But India just required a brief period of stabilization before they started preparing for a further advance. When Mandhana attempted to hit the off-side, Harmanpreet, her captain, chose to use traditional slogs and swipes via cow corner. She got going after Sugandika gave her a six and a four. After the Athapaththu over produced two more fours, Ama Kanchana’s 19th over yielded another brace.
In the last over of the innings, Harmanpreet was on 41 runs when she blasted back-to-back fours to finish with a half-century off just 27 balls, the quickest half-century by an Indian batsman in the Women’s T20 World Cup. India struck 18 fours and two sixes in one innings to leave their opponents with a very big order, after they had managed only 12 fours in the first two games.
For India, more than only their batting was effective that day. With the very first ball, substitute fielder Radha Yadav completed a diving take running back from backward point under a Vishmi Gunaratne skier, demonstrating their excellent fielding, which is generally their weak area. In her second over, Renuka Thakur, the wicket-taker, added another wicket when she got Harshitha Madavi to nick to the keeper. Shreyanka Patil produced more than four degrees of turn in between the two dismissals, causing Athapaththu to eke out a defensive push to first slip.
Sri Lanka was virtually out of it after losing three wickets in the first 14 balls of the chase. India’s task was to see whether they could keep their rivals’ score below 127, which would enable them to surpass New Zealand on NRR. They may go much better and keep them 100, as it proved out. Asha Sobhana maintained her excellent bowling form, taking 3 for 19, while Arundhati Reddy had the same stats. India needed just one more ball to complete the victory.
Quick Scores: Sri Lanka was defeated by 82 runs in 19.5 overs by India 172/3 in 20 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 52*, Smriti Mandhana 50, Shafali Verma 43; Chamari Athapaththu 1-29).