3rd T20I: Renuka, Deepti return as India elect to bowl first against Sri Lanka

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 26 (IANS) Pacer Renuka Singh Thakur and all-rounder Deepti Sharma come back into India’s playing eleven as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the third T20I of the five-match series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.

India have a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, and a win on Friday will give them the series win. After winning the toss for the third straight time, Harmanpreet said Renuka and Deepti, who missed the second T20I in Visakhapatnam due to mild fever, come in place of Sneh Rana and Arundhati Reddy, who are rested from this clash.

“With the conditions and the dew likely to come in, we felt this was the best option. Also, with the series on the line, we wanted to back our strength and keep things simple. The message has been clear from the start - even at the hotel before we came to the ground.

“This is an important match, a great opportunity to seal the series, so we need to play with confidence, stick to our plans, and enjoy our cricket. We want to be more aggressive in the powerplay so Renuka is back,” she said.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu said three changes have been made to their playing eleven, with Imesha Dulani and two other players coming in. “We would have bowled as well if we had won the toss. I’ve told them to just play their natural cricket.

“We have a few youngsters, and this is a really good platform for them to show their skills. The group is young, the team is still developing, and every game is a learning opportunity. The World Cup is coming up, and it is a good chance to play some good cricket,” she said.

Playing XIs:

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, and Sree Charani

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Imesha Dulani, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Malki Madara, and Nimesha Madushani

--IANS

nr/bsk/

Source: IANS | © IANS. All rights reserved.