India Women Crush Sri Lanka by 8 Wickets in T20 Opener; Jemimah Rodrigues Shines with Fifty

Visakhapatnam: India Women began their five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka with a commanding eight-wicket victory in the first encounter at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The win was highlighted by a brilliant unbeaten 69-run knock from Jemimah Rodrigues, who guided India to a comfortable chase in just 14.4 overs.

India restricted Sri Lanka to 121/6 despite early hopes that the dew might aid the batters. The Sri Lankan batters could not fully capitalise on the conditions, with Deepti Sharma, Shri Charani, and Kranti Goud picking one wicket each.

During the chase, Rodrigues showcased her class, hitting ten boundaries off 44 balls. She shared crucial partnerships of 54 runs with opener Smriti Mandhana, who contributed 25 runs, and 55 runs with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who remained unbeaten on 15 off 16 balls. Rodrigues’ innings included a particularly impressive sequence in the 12th over, hitting four consecutive boundaries against left-arm spinner Shashini Jimhani, reaching her fifty in 34 balls.

The match also witnessed a historic moment as Smriti Mandhana became the first Indian woman to score 4,000 runs in T20 International cricket. She achieved the milestone with stylish boundaries against Chamari Atapattu, contributing significantly to India’s steady start.

Earlier, Sri Lanka batted first with Vishmi Gunaratne top-scoring with 39 runs off 43 balls. Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarakrama added 20 and 21 runs respectively. Despite an aggressive start by Sri Lankan captain Atapattu, disciplined bowling from India, especially in the powerplay, kept the visitors in check. Debutant Vaishnavi Sharma impressed with four economical overs, giving away only 16 runs, while Deepti Sharma showcased brilliant fielding, saving almost certain boundaries.

Even as the dew increased, making gripping the ball challenging, Indian bowlers maintained excellent control, limiting Sri Lanka to 55/2 at the halfway stage of their innings.

India’s dominant performance sets the tone for the series, with the next T20I scheduled for December 23 at the same venue, followed by matches in Thiruvananthapuram.