Sri Lanka defeated India by six wickets with seven balls to spare in the third and final women’s Twenty20 match to claim the series 2-1, at the ACA-VDCA stadium here on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene played a responsible knock to remain unbeaten on 46 (42b, 4x4, 1x6) to guide the visitors to victory.
India, opting to bat, was pushed to a corner early in the match as it lost a wicket each in the first four overs.
Early troubleThe top order, with the exception of Poonam Raut, played casual shots against the medium-pacers who bowled a good line and length. The host was floundering at 12 for four by the fourth over, including that of debutant Karuna Jain who went for a non-existent run.
India could never recover from this situation and the absence of injured captain and prolific scorer Mithali Raj and Anagha Deshpande was felt in this crucial match.
Poonam (38, 45b, 3x4) added 31 for the fifth wicket with Ekta Bist (15, 1x4, 1x6) but off-spinner Maduri Samudrika picked up Bist and removed Amita Sharma in consecutive overs to put the brakes on India again.
Jhulan Goswami (37 n.o., 31b, 1x4, 3x6) used the long handle well towards the end and her 37-run stand with Poonam brought quick runs but in the end that was not enough.
Sri Lanka was 44 for three in the ninth over but, Shashikala guided the team to victory adding 45 for the fourth wicket with Chamari Polgampola. The skipper’s 32-run unbeaten partnership for the fifth wicket with Eshani Lokusuriyage (24, 10b, 3x6), hastened the end as India failed to put pressure on the visitors.
The scores: India 117 for eight in 20 overs (Poonam Raut 38, Jhulan Goswami 37 not out) lost to Sri Lanka 121 for four in 18.5 overs (Shashikala Siriwardene 46 not out).
