On December 26, India sealed a 10‑run win over Sri Lanka in the third match of a five‑game T20I series, thanks largely to a disciplined bowling effort that put the hosts at a comfortable advantage. The game marked the first international women’s bout played at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Renuka Singh Thakur and Deepti Sharma shared seven wickets to keep Sri Lanka 112‑run‑down at the end of their innings. Opening with Shafali Verma, the Indian side chased the target with ease, with Verma finishing on an unbeaten 79 and the match wrapped up with 6.4 overs to spare.
Speaking after the presentation, captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised the bowlers. “I think the contribution from our bowlers has been a highlight because in T20 cricket, the bowling is very important. If you keep ticking all the boxes in your bowling department, you have more chances to win the game.” She went on to say, “Today, we are in this position because of our bowlers. Credit goes to all our bowling lineup for the way they bowled in this series. They are the ones who always give us a breakthrough, first six overs – their top‑order is very important to get the wicket.”
Kaur also welcomed Renuka’s return to the squad, noting her impact. “Today we wanted to go with Renuka, so that she can give us that breakthrough. First over was not something we were expecting. After that, how she came back and took those crucial four wickets – that is something we were looking for.”
The win furthered India’s push to raise its standards ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held in England. “It was a great series for all of us. That’s what we discussed when we got together after the World Cup: we have to raise our standard. Be a little more aggressive in T20, we all know the T20 World Cup is coming up, this is the right time to push ourselves, so really happy with the overall performance,” Kaur said.
Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu reflected on her side’s struggles, especially with the bat. “I feel we are not playing our best cricket throughout the tournament. So, as a batting unit, we struggle a lot. We need to improve those areas. We are playing our best batting lineup. For the last six months, we have been using those players as a batting unit.” She added, “We try a few things in the bowling unit, but we always trust our youngsters and top‑order, still we are not finding the good way in this format. We gave an opportunity to Imesha Dulani today, she batted really good in the middle‑order. Kavisha batted really well. These are the positives in today’s game.” “Still, we try to find a few players before the World Cup, because we rest 5‑6 players in our team. We need to improve those areas before the next World Cup. We have two bilateral series coming up, so I hope we can perform in both bilateral series,” she added.
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