It was a complete effort with both the bat and the ball by star all-rounder Anuja Patil and some sensational batting by in-form Jemimah Rodrigues which ensured that India secure a series win over the Lankans. Both the players were involved in an unbeaten 96 runs stand for the 4th wicket guiding India for 3rd successive win in the series and clinching the trophy.
Earlier in the day, due to rains and wet outfield, the match was curtailed to 17 overs a side. India again won the toss and decided to field first. Being asked to bat, the Sri Lankans got off to a rapid start scoring 14 runs in the very first over of the innings. The opening pair put on 27 runs before Anuja Patil struck to remove Mendis for 19 in just 12 balls.
The Lankan batswomen maintained a good run rate and the in-form pair of Chamari Athapaththu and Shashikala Siriwardene put on 52 runs for the 3rd wicket before Radha Yadav provided the much needed breakthrough by picking up Athapaththu for another score in the 30s. She scored 31 in 26 balls. Siriwardene too could not capitalise on the start and was dismissed by Deepti Sharma for 40 runs in 32 balls. Her innings included 3 fours and a six.
Nilakshi De Silva and Lokusiriyage could manage to score just more than run a ball with the Lankans finishing their innings at a score of 134/5 in their allocated 17 overs. Anuja Patil was the pick of the bowlers picking up 3 wickets but conceded 36 runs in her stipulated quota of 4 overs. Deepti Sharma bowled a containing spell and ended with figures of 1 for 26 in her 4 overs.
Indians got off to a poor start with fast medium bowler Oshadi Ranashinge dismissing Mandhana and Mithali in her very first over. Mandhana’s poor run with the bat continued managing only 5 runs. Jemimah started aggressively but Oshadi struck again this time dismissing keeper Taniya Bhatia with Indian team in trouble at 38/3 in 4 overs.
Anuja Patil then joined the in-form Jemimah where the duo then played steadily with both of them striking boundaries at regular intervals. Anuja Patil played some aggressive shots at the end of the innings and brought up her maiden T20I fifty. She scored an unbeaten 54 in 42 balls, with 7 fours in her innings. Jemimah continued her sublime form scoring 52 runs at a strike rate of nearly 140 which included 5 fours and 2 sixes.
The Lankan bowlers neither were unable to restrict the flow of runs nor were able to pick any wickets. Jemimah finished the match with a six off Oshadi Ranashinge with India winning the match with 8 balls and 7 wickets to spare.
The Lankans will now look to salvage some pride in the only game remaining which is on 25th September and try and avoid a whitewash. The Indians are proving to be too strong for the Lankans and they will have to come up with some better plans to get over the line. The Indians will look to experiment in the final game with the series already in their bags and try out the bench strength. The Indians will also look at giving batswomen like Veda Krishnamurthy, skipper herself and others some more time in the middle to get much needed match practice before the all crucial T20 World Cup.
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