Shikha Pandey has been India’s go-to bowler in the death overs (File photo)
India vs Sri Lanka (IND W vs SL W) Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Highlights: India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to register their fourth win in a row in Women’s T20 World Cup. India chased down the total of 114 with 32 balls to spare. Shafali Verma dominated the bowling with her fantastic strokeplay. Shafali missed her half-century by just three runs. Smriti Mandhana contributed with 12-ball 17. Harmanpreet Kaur promoted herself up the order and scored 15, her first double-digit score in the tournament. Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues stayed unbeaten for 15 each as India stretched their winning streak.
Earlier, Sri Lanka skipper won the toss and elected to bat first. Radha Yadav starred with the ball as she took four wickets for 23 runs in her four overs including hard-hitting Chamari Thapaththu’s wicket. Athalaththu top-scored with 23-ball 34 including five fours and one six. Sri Lanka suffered a middle-order collapse. Wickets at regular intervals. Kavisha Dilhari’s cameo — 16-ball 25 — helped Sri Lanka get to 113/9. Rajeshwari Gayakwad took a couple of wickets whereas Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey and Poonam Yadav took one wicket each.
Highlights
Radha Yadav has been named the 'player of the match' for her 4/23 (personal best T20I figures).
"I was just thinking of bowling stump to stump and tried to keep it simple. We did well as a bowling unit. And we need to keep this momentum going forward. Yeah, she's (Poonam) a legend," Radha said.
Deepti Sharma finishes the match with a boundary as India beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets with 32 balls to spare. A clinical finish from India as Sri Lankan fielders struggle in the middle. India to play the semi-final on March 5. IND - 116/3 after 14.4 overs
Deepti Sharma and Jemimah Rodrigues are looking comfortable in the middle. The fourth-wicket partnership is 16 runs from 14 deliveries already. India are on their way to a comprehensive victory against Sri Lanka. IND W - 104/3 after 13 overs
Shafali Verma runs out of steam when running between the wickets. Jemimah Rodrigues calls for a quick single and Shafali could not make it home in time. The 16-year-old misses her half-century by just three runs. IND W - 88/3 after 10.4 overs
Harmanpreet Kaur departs trying to clear the long on fielder. Harmanpreet scored 15 runs from 14 balls. Meanwhile, unorthodox Shafali on display as she moves across, almost alongside the wicketkeeper to hit the ball over short fine leg fielder for a boundary. IND W - 81/2 after 9.4 overs
Shafali Verma continues to dazzle as she welcomes Kavisha Dilhari with a boundary. 7 runs from the over. Will we see Shafali score her first fifty of the tournament today? IND W - 74/1 after 9 overs
Harmanpreet Kaur is back to her hitting ways. This is her first double-digit score in the tournament. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu takes a beating as Harmanpreet hits her for two fours and one six. The required run rate goes below four runs per over. IND W - 67/1 after 8 overs
Harmanpreet Kaur gets off the strike on the sixth delivery she faces. It is important for India that she regains form before the semi-final. Kaur has promoted herself up the order today. Just three singles from the over. IND - 52/1 after 7 overs
That's what happens when you drop Shafali Verma twice early on in the innings. A nightmarish over for Shashikala Siriwardene as Shafali hits her for 15 runs in the over including two fours and one six. Ample use of the fielding restrictions by the 16-year-old as she moves to 31. IND - 49/1 after 6 overs
The commentator's curse is real. Once again, Smriti Mandhana departs after cameo. Mandhana mistimes the ball to Kavisha Dilhari. She departs after scoring 17 runs from 12 deliveries. IND W - 34/1 after 4.4 overs
Smriti Mandhana is due to play a big inning and it seems like today is the day. Mandhana hits her third boundary of the day. At this stage, the run chase looks like a cakewalk for India. IND W - 33/0 after 4 overs
Sri Lanka are making it harder for themselves than it already is. Shafali Verma has been dropped in the innings already. Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana is just mesmerising the audience with classy shots. Two consecutive boundaries from Mandhana's bat. IND W - 27/0 after 3 overs
That's criminal from Sri Lanka. Dropping Shafali Verma is like dropping the game, especially when defending a score of 114. Shafali rubs salts on wounds with two boundaries from the over. IND W - 16/0 after 2 overs
Shafali Verma gets off the mark off the first ball with a crunching drive through the covers. 6 runs from the first over. IND W - 6/1 after 1 over, Target - 114
Taniya Bhatia dropped an outside edge, Radha Yadav's lobbed throw denied a run out and Veda Krishnamurthy dropped a tough catch. Kavisha Dilhari helps Sri Lanka take some momentum with a boundary off the last ball. 9 runs and a wicket from the last over. SL W - 113/9 after 20 overs
Shikha Pandey starts the last over with a leg cutter to get the wicket of Sri Lankan tailender. Sandeepani out for a golden duck. First wicket for Pandey in the match. SL - 104/9 after 19.1 overs
Poonam Yadav gets her first wicket off the last ball of the spell. Nilakshi de Silva goes for a big shot but Harmanpreet Kaur runs back and takes the catch with ease. SL - 104/8 after 19 overs
Deepti Sharma finishes her quota of four overs. A good fielding display from Harmanpreet Kaur diving to her left, saving at least a couple of runs. 6 runs from the over. SL W - 99/7 after 18 overs
Shikha Pandey has not had the best of the days bowling today. Kavisha Dilhari gets a boundary with a scoop shot. 9 runs from Pandey's third over. She has leaked 26 runs from her three overs already. SL W - 93/7 after 17 overs
Radha Yadav is on song today. Anushka Sanjeevani goes for the sweep shot but misses the ball completely as she is trapped in front of the wickets. Radha registers his best bowling figures in the format. SL W - 80/7 after 15.2 overs
Rajeshwari Gayakwad gets her second wicket. Siriwardene mistimes the ball to the fielder at long on. Another catch for Veda Krishnamurthy in the deep. The catching has been excellent from Indian fielders today. SL - 78/6 after 14.4 overs
Hansima Karunaratne tries to hit the ball over the long on but could not clear the long on fielder Veda Krishnamurthy. Radha Yadav gets her third wicket. An excellent catch from Krishnamurthy as he keeps herself from going over the line. Karunaratne departs for 7 from 19 deliveries. SL W - 75/5 after 13.4 overs
Rajeshwari Gayakwad drops a half-chance off her own bowling. Hansima Karunaratne got down the track and tried to hit Gayakwad over the head. 7 runs from the over. SL W - 73/4 after 13 overs
New batter Shashikala Siriwardene gets down the track to Poonam Yadav and hits the ball down the ground for a boundary. Getting to the pitch of the ball is crucial to attack Poonam. 6 runs from her third over. SL W - 66/4 after 12 overs
Radha Yadav is making Sri Lankan batters dance to her tunes. After getting hit for a boundary by Hasini Perera, Radha manages to induce an outside edge off the bat. A good catch from Taniya Bhatia. SL W - 58/3 after 10.3 overs
The new Sri Lankan batters at the crease find Poonam Yadav's bowling a bit hard to get past. Just two singles from the over. At halfway mark, SL are 52/3 after 10 overs.
Two new batters Hansima Karunaratne and Hasini Perera in the middle. India will look to slow down the flow of runs in the middle overs. SL W - 50/3 after 9 overs
Chamari Athapaththu welcomed Radha Yadav with a massive six over mid-wicket. After a chat with the skipper, Radha goes round the wicket and pitches it a bit short. Chamari goes on the back foot and plays a pull shot only yo be caught by Shikha Pandey on the boundary. SL W - 48/3 after 8.3 overs
Rajeshwari Gayakwad tightens the screws after taking the wicket of Madavi. The new batter Hansima Karunaratne finds it hard to get off the strike. A wicket-maiden from the left-arm spinner. SL W - 42/2 after 8 overs
Rajeshwari Gayakwad breaks the partnership. The ball goes between Harshitha Madavi's legs and hits the stumps after taking an inside edge off the bat. Madavi departs for 12. SL W - 42/2 after 7.1 overs
Poonam Yadav, the most successful bowler in the tournament so far introduced in the attack. Chamari Athapaththu continues to shine as she goes on the back foot and hits a boundary through the offside field. SL W - 42/1 after 7 overs
The left-handers are finding it hard against the right-arm off-spinners. Deepti Sharma back in the attack after a change in end. Just three singles in Deepti's third over. End of powerplay overs. SL - 35/1 after 6 overs
Not the brightest move as Harmanpreet Kaur removes the right arm off-spinner Deepti Sharma from the attack with two left-handers operating in the middle. Left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad into the attack. 7 runs from the over including a boundary from Chamari's bat. SL W - 32/1 after 5 overs
A very delicate touch from Harshitha Madavi as she uses the pace of Shikha Pandey and guides the ball past the fielder inside the 23-yard circle for a boundary. Chamari Athapaththu takes on Pandey as well and hits it over mid-off fielder for a boundary. 11 runs from Pandey's over, an expensive one. SL W - 25/1 after 4 overs
Giving the new ball to Deepti Sharma works in India's favour again. Just two singles and a wicket in Deepti's second over. Harshitha Madavi is the new batter in. SL W - 14/1 after 3 overs
Deepti Sharma pitches it wide and a little shorter keeping the ball away from the range of Sri Lankan opener. Umesha Thimashini goes for the big shot but gets caught by Rajeshwari Gayakwad just outside the 23-yard circle. SLW - 12/1 after 2.1 overs
Fuller from Shikha Pandey and Chamari hits it over her head for a boundary. The Sri Lankan skipper has come out with a positive intent today. 6 runs from Pandey's first over as well. SLW - 12/0 after 2 overs
Chamari Athapaththu gets off the mark with a boundary. Deepti Sharma bowled it on the leg stump and Chamari swept it fine for a boundary. 6 runs off the first over from Deepti. SLW - 6/0 after 1 over
The par score on this ground is 130-135. Deepti Sharma will open the bowling for India. The first innings of India's fourth encounter is underway.
IND XI: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Taniya Bhatia(w), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
SL XI: Chamari Athapaththu(c), Umesha Thimashini, Hasini Perera, Hansima Karunaratne, Shashikala Siriwardene(w), Harshitha Madavi, Anushka Sanjeewani, Nilakshi de Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Sathya Sandeepani, Udeshika Prabodhani