India Women began the T20 series against Sri Lanka with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. After winning the toss, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur opted to field, and the Indian bowlers kept Sri Lanka restricted to 121/6 in 20 overs.
Sri Lanka struggled to build momentum as Kranti Gaud removed captain Chamari Athapaththu early, while Deepti Sharma (1/20) and debutant Vaishnavi Sharma (0/16) tightened the screws in the middle overs. Vishmi Gunaratne top-scored with 39, but regular wickets prevented the visitors from posting a bigger total.
Chasing 122, India lost Shafali Verma early, but Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues steadied the innings with a fluent partnership. Mandhana reached the landmark of 4000 T20I runs, becoming only the second woman to achieve the feat, before departing for 25.
Jemimah Rodrigues starred with an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls, bringing up her half-century in just 34 deliveries. Alongside Harmanpreet Kaur, she guided India to victory in 14.4 overs, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead ahead of the second match on Tuesday.
