Fifties from Harshita Samawickrama and Nilakshi de Silva helped Sri Lanka defeat India by three wickets in fourth match of the women’s ODI tri-series at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh top-scored with 58 as India made 275/9 in their 50 overs In reply, Harshitha made 53 while Nilakshi turned the chase in the hosts’ favour through a blazing 33-ball 56. All-rounder Nilakshi also shared a partnership of 57 off 38 balls with Kavisha Dilhari (35 off 32 balls), before she fell in the 43rd over.
Anushka Sanjeewani (23 not out) and Sugandika Kumari (19 not out) took Sri Lanka home with their unbroken 40-run stand for the eighth wicket, as the hosts’ pulled off their second-highest successful run chase in women’s ODIs. They also registered their first ODI win over India since 2018, which is also their third victory over the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side in 34 matches.
Pushed into batting first on a sluggish pitch, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana had a 51-run opening stand, before the latter was run-out in the final over of power-play. After Pratika was trapped lbw by Inoka Ranaweera, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had partnerships of 42 and 44 with Harleen Deol (29) and Jemimah Rodrigues (37) respectively.
Richa then stepped up to hit 58 off 48 balls, while sharing a 52-run stand with Deepti Sharma. But once Richa fell in the 44th over, India failed to get the finishing kick they desired, as Sri Lanka conceded just 29 runs from the last five overs. Sugandika and skipper Chamari Athapaththu were the standout bowlers for Sri Lanka by picking three-fers each. .
In the chase, Sri Lanka never looked like they were out of control. Sneh Rana was once again the standout bowler for India with 3-45. But all-rounder Kashvee Gautam limping off the field after bowling just five overs meant Harmanpreet had to use Pratika as the sixth bowler. Though Hasini Perera and Vishmi Gunaratne fell before the half-way mark, Harshita ensured the hosts’ were steady in their run-making through her brisk fifty.
But it was Nilakshi’s knock that took the game away from India. With her big-hitting skills and some help from India’s erring fielding unit, Nilakshi and Kavisha took 20 runs off Arundhati Reddy in the 37th over, and from there, Sri Lanka got home with five balls to spare. Sunday’s outcome means the competition is now wide open, as Sri Lanka are now equal with India via four points and will now face a winless South Africa on Tuesday.
Brief Scores: India 275/9 in 50 overs (Richa Ghosh 58, Jemimah Rodrigues 37; Chamari Athapaththu 3-43, Sugandika Kumari 3-44) lost to Sri Lanka 278/7 in 49.1 overs (Nilakshi de Silva 56, Harshitha Samarawickrama 53; Sneh Rana 3-45, Pratika Rawal 1-32) by three wickets
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