1st T20I: Jemimah's 69 not out, bowlers help India Women beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets

Visakhapatnam, Dec 21 (IANS) Jemimah Rodrigues continued her superb form from the Women ODI World Cup as she slammed an unbeaten half-century to help India capitalise on a good bowling performance to beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first match of the five-match women T20I series in Visakhapatnam.

After the Indian bowlers came up with a superb performance to restrict Sri Lanka to a modest 121/6 in 20 overs, Jemimah, who scored a century to help India reach the World Cup final, scored 69 not out off 44 balls on Sunday and helped India race to 122/2 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium and win the match with 32 balls to score.

Jemimah scored her half-century off 34 balls as she struck 10 boundaries and shared two half-century partnerships -- 54 for the second wicket stand with Smriti Mandhana, who scored a run-a-ball 25 after India lost Shafali Verma (9) early, and an unfinished 55-run partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for the third wicket.

Jemimah built her knock with patience and then unleashed some superb shots, was quick on her feet, played late cuts superbly, and ran brilliantly, at times egging Mandhana and Harmanpreet to put in an extra effort. Mandhana and Rodrigues repaired the Indian innings after Verma clipped Kawya Kavindi to square leg, where Gimhani picked a smart catch, diving forward.

Smriti was her usual left, cautious, and patient as he scored 25, becoming the first Indian batter to reach 4000 runs in women T20I cricket. She hit four boundaries before being caught by Nilakshika Silva at deep extra cover off Inoka Ranaweera.

Rodrigues found a willing partner in skipper Harmanpreet Kaur as they guided India to a comprehensive win with the captain scoring 15 not out as India went up 1-0 in the five-match series.

Earlier, the bowlers made an easy win possible for India in a match in which both teams were hampered by copious dew.

After skipper Harmanpreet Kaur elected to field on winning the toss in their first outing since winning the Women ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai, the Indian bowlers strangled the Sri Lankan batters despite atrocious fielding that included a few dropped catches, misfields and a six palmed-over by Smriti Mandhana as the 50 overs World Champions struggled to adjust with the short format, which they were playing after a big break.

The Sri Lankans were not much better and struggled with the T20 format after they lost skipper Chamari Athapaththu for 15 off 12 balls as they managed to score only 31/1 in the Power-play. The Sri Lankan captain struck three fours in the first couple of overs before Kranti Gaud managed to sneak a ball through the gap between the bat and pad to rattle the stumps for her first Women T20I wicket.

Though debutant spinner Vaishavi Sharma failed to get a wicket, she conceded only 16 runs in her four overs as the Indians tied the Sri Lankans in knots. Deepti Sharma conceded only 10 runs in three overs, while N Shree Charani was comparatively costly in her spell of 1-30 in four overs. She was also guilty of dropping two easy skiers.

For India, Kranti Gaud (1-23), Deepti Sharma (1-20), and N. Shree Charani (1-30) claimed a wicket each.

Vishmi Gunaratne waged a lone battle for Sri Lanka as she scored a slow 39 off 43 balls, hitting a four and a six before she was run out to a piece of good work by Kranti Gaud. She shared a 38-run partnership with Harshitha Samarawickrama, but once the latter was out, Sri Lanka batting effort got derailed once again.

Hasini Perera 20 off 23 and Harshitha Samarawickrama (21 off 23) got starts but could not capitalise on them. But they helped the Islanders cross into three figures, though they could not manage to hit any big shots.

Both India and Sri Lanka have gone into the match with contrasting selection decisions. While India showed trust in the tried and tested, retaining a majority of players that figured in their triumphant 50-over World Cup winning campaign, Sri Lanka picked several youngsters as both teams try to find the best combination for the Women T20 World Cup to be held later in 2026.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka Women 121/6 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 39, Harshitha Samarawickrama 21; Kranti Gaud 1-23, Deepti Sharma 1-20, N. Shree Charani 1-30) lost to India Women 122/2 in 14.4 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 69 not out, Smriti Mandhana 25; Inoka Ranaweera 1-17) by eight wickets

--IANS

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