Bowlers steal the show again as India-W romp past Sri Lanka-W to go 2-0 up in T20I series

India romped past Sri Lanka with effortless ease as bowlers took charge once again while the batters sealed the fate of the game with a rock-solid performance. Despite Sri Lanka’s top-order getting the numbers, the Indian bowlers made it a point to choke the run-flow before their batters hit their respective strides to cruise to the finish line.

Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first again. Kranti Gaud got hold of Vishmi Gunaratne (1) in the first over itself. Chamari Athapaththu (31) and Hasini Perera (22) knitted together a crucial partnership of 36 runs for the second wicket before Sneh Rana rattled the stand, removing the former.

Another solid stand ensued as Harshitha Samarawickrama (33) joined Hasini in the center. The two added 44 runs for the third wicket as Sri Lanka looked in control. It was Shree Charani who snuffed out the stand, removing Perera. The fall of Perera precipitated a collapse as Sri Lanka went from 82/2 to 128/9 in the last seven overs.

Samarawickrama was back in no time as well, falling short of her crease, opening the floodgates. The Indian bowlers stormed in with all their flair, complemented well by their fielders. Vaishnavi Sharma, who got her international debut in the last game struck a brace, registering figures of 2/32. Charani bagged another couple of wickets as India restricted Sri Lanka to 128/9.

India got off to a fine start, courtesy of Shafali Verma (69*). Mandhana did get a decent overture, smashing a four and a six en route to her 14 off 11 but couldn’t convert it. Jemimah Rodrigues blasted a quickfire 26 off 15, clobbering four fours and a six. Kawya Kavindi got hold of Jemi while Verma kept on firing on all cylinders.

Despite India losing their skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, for an ordinary 10, there was hardly any element in the equation to bother the hosts. They eventually secured a seven-wicket win as Shafali Verma spearheaded the charge. She was also the Player of the Match of the game for her game-winning knock.