Harmanpreet Kaur-led team India ended the league stage of the ODI Tri-nation series as the table toppers with 6 points from 4 games, including a solitary defeat against Sri Lanka.
The Chamari Athapaththu-led side finished 2nd on the points table with four points from four games, including a couple of victories and a couple of defeats in the league stages of the series. As a result of their top two finish, both sides booked a spot in the final of the ODI Tri-nation series at the R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.
Both sides made some changes to their side. Piumi Wathsala Badalge replaced Manudi Nanayakkara, and Inoka Ranaweera replaced Inoshi Priyadharshani in the starting 11 for the home side. As far as the visitors are concerned, the 21-year-old youngster Kranti Goud was handed her ODI debut cap. She replaced Shuchi Upadhyay in the starting 11.
Smriti Mandhana’s 11th ODI Century
The Indian openers Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana got their side off to a solid start with a 70-run opening partnership. Inoka Ranaweera broke the stand by sending Pratika Rawal (30 off 49 balls) back to the pavilion in the 15th over of the innings to provide the first breakthrough for Sri Lanka.
Harleen Deol joined Smriti Mandhana at the crease and the duo stitched a massive 120-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 200-run mark. The 19-year-old youngster broke the stand by sending Smriti Mandhana (116 off 101 balls) back to the pavilion in the 33rd over of the innings to provide the much-needed 2nd breakthrough for the home side. She completed her 11th ODI century before getting dismissed.
A decent 29-run partnership for the 3rd wicket between skipper Harmanpreet Kaur took them past the 200-run mark before Harleen Deol (47 off 56 balls) made her way back to the pavilion in the 37th over of the innings to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Sri Lanka. She fell three runs short of her well-deserved half-century.
Jemimah Rodrigues joined skipper Harmanpreet Kaur at the crease, and the pair took India past the 250-run mark courtesy of a crucial 48-run partnership for the 4th wicket. Sugandika Kumari got the big scalp of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (41 off 30 balls) in the 42nd over of the innings to provide the 4th breakthrough for the home side.
India eventually posted a massive total of 342/7 in their quota of 50 overs, courtesy of a late flourish from Deepti Sharma (20* off 14 balls) and Amanjot Kaur (18 off 12 balls). Sugandika Kumari (10-0-59-2), Dewmi Vihanga (10-0-69-2), and Malki Madara (10-0-74-2) picked up a couple of wickets each, while Inoka Ranaweera (10-0-62-1) was impressive with the ball for her side.
Sneh Rana and Amanjot Kaur’s Magic with Ball
Chasing a massive target of 343, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost the wicket of their opening batter, Hasini Perera, on the 3rd ball of the run chase. Amanjot Kaur provided the first breakthrough for India. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu joined Vishmi Gunaratne at the crease, and the duo stitched a much-needed 68-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side closer to the 100-run mark.
Amanjot Kaur returned and broke the stand by sending Vishmi Gunaratne (36 off 41 balls) back to the pavilion in the 14th over of the run chase to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Nilakshika Silva joined skipper Chamari Athapaththu at the crease, and the duo stitched another crucial 53-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side past the 120-run mark.
Sneh Rana cleaned up the opposition skipper Chamari Athapaththu (51 off 66 balls) in the 24th over of the run chase to provide the 3rd breakthrough for India. She completed her 19th ODI half-century before getting dismissed. Harshitha Samarawickrama joined Nilakshika Silva at the crease, and the duo stitched another crucial 52-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side closer to the 180-run mark.
Amanjot Kaur returned and picked up her 3rd scalp of the day by sending Harshitha Samarawickrama (26 off 32 balls) in the 33rd over of the run chase, providing the 4th breakthrough for her side. The home side never really gained the momentum in the run chase as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, and as a result, they were bundled out for just 245 with 10 balls to spare, falling 97 runs short of the target.
Nilakshika Silva (48 off 58 balls), wicket-keeper batter Anushka Sanjeewani (28 off 41 balls), and Sugandika Kumari (27 off 29 balls) chipped in with crucial contributions with the bat for Sri Lanka. Sneh Rana (9.2-1-38-4) and Amanjot Kaur (8-0-54-3) were the stand-out performers with the ball for India, while Deepti Sharma (10-0-43-0) and Shree Charani (10-0-55-1) were impressive in their spells.
Player of the Match – Smriti Mandhana
Smriti Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational century (116 off 101 balls) with the bat for her side. She ended the series as the 2nd highest run-scorer with 264 runs at a strike rate of 90.41 and an impressive average of 52.80 in five innings, including one half-century and one century. Sneh Rana was awarded the Player of the Series with 15 wickets at an impressive average of 14 and an economy of 4.73 in five innings, including one four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul for her side in the series.
