The Indian Women's Cricket Team continued their impressive performance against Sri Lanka, winning the fourth T20 International match by 30 runs. With this victory, India has taken an unassailable 4-0 lead in the five-match T20 series.
Sports News: India registered a brilliant win by defeating Sri Lanka by 30 runs in the fourth T20 match. In this match played in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first. India, thanks to half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, scored 221 runs for two wickets in 20 overs.
Chasing the target, the Sri Lankan team could only manage 191 runs for six wickets. Captain Chamari Athapaththu scored the highest for Sri Lanka with 52 runs. Arundhati Reddy and Vaishnavi Sharma took two wickets each for India, while Sri Charani secured one wicket.
Mandhana-Shafali's Record Partnership
In the match played on Sunday, Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, this decision did not prove correct for the team, as the Indian openers adopted an aggressive approach from the beginning and put the Sri Lankan bowlers under pressure. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, from India, played explosive batting and forged a huge partnership of 162 runs for the first wicket. Both batters played attractive shots all around the ground and thoroughly entertained the spectators.
- Smriti Mandhana played a brilliant innings of 80 runs
- Shafali Verma scored 79 runs
Thanks to the aggressive batting of both, India scored 221 runs for just two wickets in 20 overs. This is the highest score ever made by the Indian women's team in T20 international cricket. Previously, India had scored 217/4 against the West Indies last year. Richa Ghosh added a quickfire 40 runs in the middle order, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur remained unbeaten on 16 runs, giving the team a b finish.
Sri Lanka's Attempt to Chase the Target
Sri Lanka, who came out to chase the huge target of 222 runs, got off to a good start. Hasini Perera and captain Chamari Athapaththu shared a 59-run partnership for the first wicket and tried to give India an early blow. However, Arundhati Reddy broke this partnership by dismissing Perera for 33 runs. After this, the Sri Lankan innings came under pressure. Captain Athapaththu struggled to score 52 runs, but did not receive the expected support from the other end.
- Imesha Dulani – 29 runs
- Nilakshika Silva – 23 runs
- Harshita Samarawickrama – 20 runs
No other batter could play a big innings, and the Sri Lankan team could only manage 191 runs for six wickets in 20 overs. India's bowling was also impressive in this match. Arundhati Reddy and Vaishnavi Sharma took two wickets each, while Sri Charani took one wicket. With this win, India has taken an unassailable 4-0 lead in the series.
