(Catch the live updates of the India vs Sri Lanka clash here)
Harmanpreet Kaur: It’s really important to keep the momentum when you are winning games. You really work hard, so you can’t afford to lose that momentum. You can’t bowl same pace and lengths on these wickets, so you need to keep rotating the bowlers.
Today I tried to be positive and got a few boundaries. In the upcoming games I’ll try to give my best. Shafali is someone who loves to play big shots, and we don’t want to stop her. She should continue doing the same and she should continue enjoying her game.
Radha Yadav is the Player of the Match. She says: I tried to keep it simple and bowl stump to stump. We need to keep this momentum going forward. Yeah [there is a friendly competition] with Poonam. She’s a legend.
INDIA WIN BY 7 WICKETS
Deepti Sharma hits the winning runs with a sweep and the ball trickles away to the fence. It was clinical from Harmanpreet and Co, getting home with 32 balls to spare. Sri Lanka were once again left rueing dropped chances on the field. As for India, the spinners were exceptional once again. Shafali Verma’s dream run continues.
India 109/3 in 14 overs|J Rodrigues 12 (12), D Sharma 10 (11)
Dropped! Another one bites the dust and this time it’s Chamari Athapaththu who puts it down. The skipper jumped up but can’t hold onto it. Rodrigues is the lucky batter.
India 104/3 in 13 overs|J Rodrigues 10 (9), D Sharma 8 (9)
Rodrigues plays a eye-catching cover drive as India now need just ten to win. The Mumbai batter is using her feet well to counter spin.
India 95/3 in 12 overs | J Rodrigues 3 (5), D Sharma 6 (7)
Deepti Sharma is promoted up the order and gets a boundary with a slog sweep, threading the ball perfectly between long on and deep mid-wicket. India need 19 to register their fourth straight win.
WICKET! India 88/3 in 10.3 overs |S Verma Run out 47 (34)
Oh, dear. Running her out is one way to dismiss Shafali Verma as her hot streak continues. Jemimah Rodrigues took off for a quick single. The throw from mid-on was spot on and Sanjeewani whipped off the bails in a flash with Verma short of her ground. The opener was ponderous mid-pitch and that’s what cost a well-deserved half-century.
WICKET! India 81/2 in 9.4 overs | H Kaur c Karunaratne b Siriwardene 15 (14)
Siriwardene deservedly gets a wicket. Harmanpreet tries to go big and the ball hit the top of the bat. It’s a simple catch for long on. The Indian captain will be kicking herself for not taking her team home.
India 74/1 in 9 overs | S Verma 41 (30), H Kaur 15 (12)
Verma continues to find gaps in the field and the required run rate going below four. She is toying with the Lankan bowlers at the moment.
India 67/1 in 8 overs | S Verma 34 (25), H Kaur 15 (11)
Harmanpreet Kaur’s big-hitting leg-side game is back with a slew of boundaries. Fifteen from the Athapaththu over. The Sri Lankan captain was too short in that over, allowing her opposite number to put her front foot out and belt the ball over the ropes on the leg side.
India 52/1 in 7 overs | S Verma 33 (23), H Kaur 1 (7)
Harmanpreet is off the mark in the fifth ball she faced. The Indian captain has looked subdued so far. She is going through a lean run of form, and having promoted herself, needs a good knock.
India 49/1 in 6 overs | S Verma 31 (21), H Kaur 0 (2)
Shafali Verma brings up her ninth six of the tournament, smashing Siriwardane over long-on. Monstrous hit. That hit, of course, was sandwiched between two boundaries, one on either side of the wicket. Another fruitful powerplay for India as Verma goes from strength to strength.
WICKET! India 34/1 in 4.4 overs | S Mandhana c Dilhari b Prabodhani 17 (12)
India lose their first wicket. One big shot too many for the India vice-captain. That came of the edge of the bat and Dilhari makes no mistake at mid-on.
India 33/0 in 4 overs | S Verma 15 (14), S Mandhana 17 (10)
Mandhana’s boundary-hitting spree continues. Athapaththu brings herself on and had started in a tidy fashion. The final delivery of the over was a fraction full and Mandhana plays a gorgeous lofted drive over extra cover for another boundary.
India 27/0 in 3 overs | S Verma 14 (10), S Mandhana 12 (8)
Dropped! Another one goes down as Sandeepani can’t hold on to a return catch. Tough chance that. Then, Mandhana then goes inside out to get back-to-back boundaries. Mandhana comes to the party with her trademark lofted shots.
India 16/0 in 2 overs | S Verma 13 (8), S Mandhana 2 (4)
Dropped! Another drop catch in Sri Lanka’s account. Verma got a leading edge but with two fielders converging, the chance goes down. To rub salt on Siriwardene’s wounds, Verma shuffles across and hammers it on the leg side for a four. The teenager ends the over with a chip that goes over the reach of mid-off to get her third boundary. India are on the march.
India 6/0 in 1 over | S Verma 5 (4), S Mandhana 1 (2)
In trademark fashion, Verma creams one through extra cover off an over-pitched delivery. Mind you, that was the first ball of the innings. Mandhana is off the mark with a crisp cover drive.
The players are back on the field. Smriti Mandhana is in the middle along with Shafali Verma. Prabodani has the ball in her hand.
SRI LANKA FINISH AT 113/9
The Lankan innings ends on a high with Dilhari finishing a smart cameo. She had 25 in 16 balls. This could be competitive if Athapaththu and Co can repeat what they did against Australia. Superb display by India with the ball. They fielded like lionesses too.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 104/9 in 19.1 overs | S Sanjeevani b Pandey 0 (1)
Shikha Pandey gets a wicket and looks at the skies. She has not had the best of days but sends the stumps cartwheeling with a yorker.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 104/8 in 19 overs | N de Silva c Harmanpreet b P Yadav 8 (12)
Well, well. Poonam Yadav gets a wicket in the final ball of her spell. De Silva tries to go big and Harmanpreet, Kapil Dev style, runs backwards from mid-wicket to take the catch.
Sri Lanka 99/7 in 18 overs | N De Silva 7 (9), K Dilhari 14 (10)
Indians continue to show good intent on the field. Here, Harmanpreet Kaur puts in a despairing dive at extra cover to save a couple of runs for her side.
Sri Lanka 93/7 in 17 overs | N De Silva 5 (6), K Dilhari 10 (7)
It has not been Pandey’s day. Nine from the over as Dilhari shows deft touch with a ramp shot. She gets four for it. The Lankans are now looking to bat out the overs.
Radha Yadav finishes with her best figures. It reads 4-0-23-4.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 80/7 in 15.2 overs | A Sanjeewani lbw b R Yadav 1 (3)
Sanjeewani swings and misses and is trapped leg before. A review is taken and the ball was clipping the bail. That’s four for Radha Yadav. What a spell this has been from the Mumbai spinner. Sri Lanka retain the review but the procession continues.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 78/6 in 14.4 overs | S Siriwardene c Krishnamurthy b Gayakwad 13 (12)
Another catch for Krishnamurthy. It’s the day for the left-arm spinners. Yet again, a batter perishes trying to swing across the line. Gayakwad picks up her second wicket and the Lankans lose their last recognised batter.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 75/5 in 13.4 overs | H Karunaratne c Krishnamurthy b R Yadav 7 (19)
Karunaratne’s ordeal at the crease comes to an end. Krishnamurthy deserves credit for this one. The senior Indian player, at long off, takes it centimetres before the boundary rope. Radha is on fire.
Sri Lanka 73/4 in 13 overs | H Karunaratne 6 (16), S Siriwardene 10 (7)
Siriwardene gets her second boundary. Once again, down the ground is the go-to route for the batters. The former Sri Lankan captain beats the chase of Veda to get a boundary.
Sri Lanka 66/4 in 12 overs | H Karunaratne 3 (12), S Siriwardene 6 (5)
Siriwardene is off to positive start. She will be vital to Sri Lanka’s proceedings with the spinners chipping away at them. The pitch still looks a good one to bat on.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 58/4 in 10.4 overs | H Perera c Bhatia b Radha Yadav 7 (9)
Another wicket goes. Bhatia has been a livewire behind the stumps and yet again, she shows good reflexes and the umpire raises the finger. Radha Yadav has had a telling say in this contest.
Sri Lanka 52/3 in 10 overs | H Perera 1 (6), H Karunaratne 2 (8)
The scoring rate has dropped and the two new batters are under pressure. The Indian spinners are beginning to weave their magic. Poonam couldn’t get her hands on a tough caught and bowled chance.
Sri Lanka 48/3 in 8.3 overs | C Athapaththu c Pandey b R Yadav 33 (24)
Credit to Radha Yadav there. She was hit for a huge six on the leg side and this time, the ball is delivered a lot flatter. Athapaththu doesn’t get the distance on it and Pandey at the boundary takes a good catch. What a pity, the Lankan captain was just building momentum.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 42/2 in 7.1 overs | H Madhavi b Gayakwad 12 (17)
That one spun a long way and Gayakwad gets her first wicket. Madhavi was under pressure to score runs and steps out. The ball went through the gate. India are flying.
Sri Lanka 35/1 in 6 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 22, Harshita Madhvi 11)
Tidy over from Deepti Sharma. Just a couple and a leg bye from the over. Athapaththu is barking instructions to the non-striker as India build pressure.
Sri Lanka 32/1 in 5 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 22, Harshita Madhvi 8)
Rajeshwari Gayakwad comes into the attack and Athapaththu’s boundary-hitting spree continues. There should have been a slip in place. There wasn’t so the Sri Lankan captain dabs it down to third man.
Sri Lanka 25/1 in 4 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 16, Harshita Madhvi 7)
Athapaththu has taken a liking to Shikha Pandey’s bowling and yet again, she goes down the ground. Stand and deliver stuff there, using her brute force to clear the infield. The signs are there for an Athapaththu special.
Sri Lanka 14/1 in 3 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 11, Harshita Madhvi 1)
Madhvi has been sent up the order as the Lankans look to build momentum inside the powerplay. Athapaththu needs to take most of the strike. Indians won’t mind this scoring rate.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 12/1 in 2.1 overs | U Thimashini c Gayakwad b D Sharma 2 (5)
Cheap wicket for India. Thimashini perishes trying to go for an almighty heave and Gayakwad at point makes no mistake. Easy as it comes for Harmanpreet Kaur’s side.
Sri Lanka 6/0 in 1 over (Umesha Thimashini 1, Chamari Athapaththu 5)
Good start for the Lankans as their skipper, true to her style, begins in aggressive fashion against Deepti Sharma. The pitch looks good to bat on.
Sri Lanka: Chamari Atapattu (c), Umesha Thimashini, Hasini Perera, Hansima Karunaratne, Shashikala Siriwardene, Harshitha Madavi, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Sathya Sandeepani, Udeshika Prabodhani.
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
9:15 pm: Harmanpreet Kaur says: We are okay with both but great opportunity for us to chase, we haven’t done that yet. We are sticking with the same players as the last game. We are doing quite well, we don’t want to try anything else.
9:10 pm: Sri Lanka have won the toss and opt to bat first.
9:00 pm: New Zealand managed to defend a paltry score of 91 in the first match of the day, which was against Bangladesh. Will we have another low-scoring contest?
8:50 am: Harmanpreet Kaur and Co, despite winning three from three, have not looked the finished article. Here’s our preview of the game. Toss is just minutes away.
Hello and welcome to the live updates of the India versus Sri Lanka clash of the T20 World Cup in Melbourne. High-flying India have been rescued by their bowlers so far. Poonam Yadav and Shikha Pandey, along with the swashbuckling Shafali Verma, have been the architects behind India’s wins so far.
Yet again, their bowling will decide which way the match is headed. Harmanpreet Kaur has not been among the runs and will have to come to the party soon if India have to get past the semi-final barrier. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka are out of the tournament and will be looking to tighten the lose ends. Despite having Australia on the ropes, they could not get across the line.
Chamari Athapaththu need support around her and is, by a fair distance, the key wicket for India. The explosive southpaw has the knack of changing gears effortlessly and may well seal the fate of the contest in the matter of a couple of overs. Shashikala Siriwardene, playing her penultimate match, is another key player for the Lankans. However, Verma, the toast of the nation is India’s trump card. As always, what the teenager and Smriti Mandhana do at the top ends up having a major say in the result, especially from an India perspective.