The Indian Women’s Cricket Team has come a long away since its debut back in 1973. From Shantha Rangaswamy to Mithali Raj, the women in blue have seen a lot of ups and downs and have come out to be only stronger and better in time. From people not knowing anything about women playing cricket in India to gluing the same people to the TV screens on various occasions, women have not only proved to themselves what they’re capable of but also have shown enough character, intent and a class show of talent to achieve and be where they are today and only improving at every step.
The superwomen of India would be looking to make a mark in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka that will kick start from September 11th and will continue till September 25th. The visitors will play a total of 8 matches that includes 3 ODIs and 5 T20s against the hosts.
India vs Sri Lanka – Asia Cup 2018
The last time that India played Sri Lanka was in June 2018. Both the teams met each other during The Asia Cup that was played in Kuala Lumpur. Where India made it to the finals of the tournament and ended up as Runner Up to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka did not qualify having won only 2 out of the 5 games that they played. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, India won against the Island Country by 7 wickets and 7 balls to spare. 2 run out efforts by Ekta Bisht and 2 wickets taken by the youngster played a major role in restricting the opponent to a mere total of 107 runs. The women in blue sure made their opponent struggle for runs and made it clear that they are not going to have it the easy way.
Also Read : Interview with Jhulan Goswami – Champ from Chakdah
India vs Sri Lanka – Women’s World Cup 2017
Back in 2017, Sri Lanka played India only twice in the year. They were defeated in both the games that they played against Mithali Raj and her team. They played one as a warm up match leading to the ICC Women’s World Cup which was followed by a game in the World Cup held in England. The game at Chesterfield was surely a one that Inoka Ranaweera led team would like to forget. However, the blues would like to take as a big boost taking only positives from it. Completely outplayed, Sri Lanka lost to India by a massive 109 runs when they were bowled out having 8 balls to spare from their innings. A partnership looking to get stronger was broken when Chamari Atapattu had to return to the pavilion due to India’s fielding at only 30 runs. Looking in good form, it did not take Rajeshwari Gayakwad quite a lot of time to get hold of Dilani Madora when she was just a run away from reaching her half century. With the crucial wicket of the Sri Lankan wicket keeper, the Lankans could never make it back into the game. India on the other hand had a complete performance with the openers giving their side a solid start followed by Gayakwad’s superb bowling display bagging 4 wickets off her 7 overs and some crucial run outs at crucial stages of the game.
Coming to the main tournament, India won against their opponents by 16 runs. Where India had scored 232 runs in their 50 overs, the Lankans could manage only 216 in their innings. Deepti Sharma played a classic knock scoring 78 runs supported by her skipper who scored 53 leading their team to the fourth victory in a row. Sri Lanka had positives to take as compared to their first game where their batting and bowling performances are concerned.
Sri Lanka tour of India, 2016 (Feb 15-Feb 26)
Further down the line, there were two occasions where both the teams met. Earlier in the year the Lankans toured India where they played 3 ODIs and 3 T20s. The hosts enjoyed a clean sweep against the visitors having won all the 6 games that they played. Mithali Raj led team bowled out Sri Lanka in 45.2 overs and won the first game by a massive 107 runs. Mandhana with the bat and Poonam Yadav with the ball helped the blues to get over the line.
Also Read : Female Cricket interviews former Sri Lankan women’s captain Inoka Ranaweera
India won the second game in only 43.1 overs with Mandhana starring with the bat yet again supported by her skipper and team mate Harmanpreet Kaur. Doing the magic with the ball in his game was Deepti Sharma. Completely outplayed in the third and final ODI at Ranchi the visitors were bowled out in 38.2 overs having only 112 runs to their scorecard. The hosts managed to clinch the trophy in just 29.3 overs. Deepti Sharma took 6 wickets and ended her ODI series with 12 wickets to her name. Veda Krishnamurthy scoring 61 runs did not give any hope of coming back to the visitors.
The T20 series as well was not what the visitors might have expected. Losing their first game by 34 runs and the second being won by the hosts with one over to spare and by 5 wickets was not that palest to be taken in by the Lankans. They lost the last game by 9 wickets with the opponents taking only 13.5 overs to reach the target set. In short where India saw only positives, the hosts saw this tour as an absolute disaster where nothing went their way.
The Lankans couldn’t turn things their way that year when they met India at the Asia cup. They lost to India by 52 runs with only two players from their team scoring in double digits. Mithali Raj bagging the man of the match award scoring 62 runs later went onto to lift the trophy with her team.
The Mandhana Power
The tour that will be coming up would be interesting to see. Where Smriti Mandhana has been enjoying the purple patch of her career with amazing performances in KIA Super League, India will be missing out on a key player bringing in a lot of experience where the shortest format of the game is concerned. Sri Lanka having had a not so good tour against Pakistan earlier this year, it would be fascinating to see the changes and strategies they come up with against India. India on the other hand having won a tour against South Africa lost to Australia but comeback stronger against England. India would be looking to try out new players keeping in mind the T20 World Cup being around the corner.
Also Read : To know more about the Indian Squad, read it on The Cricket Blog, click here
Harry’s Captaincy
Captain Harmanpreet would be looking to make changes to check with the combinations. Mithali Raj leading the side in the longer format would be bringing a lot of experience where the shorter format of the game is concerned. Smriti Mandhana along with Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur would play key roles in the teams performance. Recently retired Jhulan Goswami and key bowlers Poonam Yadav and Gayakwad would also come in handy.
Looking forward to India Women tour of Sri Lanka, it would be quite exciting to see if Sri Lanka can turn the tables against the hosts or the hosts will be able maintain their records against the Blue and Yellow.
On behalf of Female Cricket we wish both the teams the very best with the eagerness to update you on the records that will be made and those that will be broken.
