The Indian Womens Cricket Team have started their ICC Womens World Cup 2025 campaign in style with a decisive win over Sri Lanka in a rain-affected match.
The India Women vs Sri Lanka Women game was Match 1 of the Womens World Cup 2025 and was played in Guwahatiâ€s Barsapara Stadium. Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first.
IND W vs SL W: India Beat Lanka In Womens World Cup Match 1
India did not get off to the best start to their inning, as veteran batter Smriti Mandhana got out in the fourth over after scoring eight runs. However, an early wicket was followed by a solid partnership between opener Pratika Rawal and incoming batter Harleen Deol. The two batted for the next 16 overs together, making 67 runs together.
At the 10-over mark, Indiaâ€s score was 43/1. But then, the match was halted due to rain. After about an hour of play was lost, the teams returned to the pitch, and the match continued.
By the time Rawal was dismissed for 37 off 59 in the 19th over, the teamâ€s score was 81/2. Deol played a valiant inning of 48 off 64 before getting out in the 26th over. However, this over would end up being a disaster for the India Women, as spinner Inoka Ranaweera would take three wickets in the 26th.
On the very next ball after Deolâ€s wicket, Jemimah Rodrigues would be bowled for a golden duck. And before the over ended, captain Harmanpreet Kaur would depart for 21 off 19.
Now in deep trouble at 121/5, the Indian Womens Cricket Team needed a saviour. But before that, the collapse would continue, as wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh would return to the pavilion in the 27th over.
The Indian middle order had to mount a rescue. This responsibility fell on the shoulders of Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur. The two women would bat for over 16 overs together and build a 103-run partnership in that time. While Deepti would make a run-a-ball 53, Amanjot made 57 off 56.
On the back of half-centuries by the two all-rounders, India crossed the 200-run mark. Due to the rain, the match was shortened by three overs per inning. So, at the end of the allotted 47 overs, India Women made 269 runs while losing eight wickets. This was a solid score, considering how the inning nearly collapsed midway through. Ranaweera, with her spell of 4/46, was the clear standout for Sri Lanka Women.
Due to DLS calculations, Sri Lanka had a target of 271 runs in 47 overs. They got off to a decent start to their inning. The opening partnership made 30 runs within seven overs before opener Hasini Perera got out for 14 of 20.
The second-wicket partnership of Harshita Samarawickrama and captain Chamari Athapaththu was worth 52 runs. By the time the skipper got out for 43 off 47, the Sri Lankan score was 82/2 at the end of 15 overs. However, from this point, the Lankan Lionesses failed to stitch together any decent partnerships.
Samarawickrama got out in the 23rd, Vishmi Gunaratne in the 24th, and Kavisha Dilhari in the 27th. At this point, the score was 130/5. However, while India saw their middle order fight back from a similar point, no such fight came from the Sri Lankan batters.
Wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani made six runs, Nilakshi de Silva made a valiant 35, and the lower order collapsed. The Sri Lankan innings ended in the 46th over as the team got all out for 211.
Deepti Sharma, who scored a half-century with the bat, was also the best-performing bowler for India Women, bowling a 10-over spell of 3/54. So naturally, she was named the Player of the Match as the Women in Blue won the match by 59 runs via the DLS method.
With the win in this IND W vs SL W match, the hosts have raced to the top of the table in the ICC Womenâ€s World Cup 2025.
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