India powered to an 82-run victory over Sri Lanka to bolster their ambitions of an semi-final spot.
Smriti Mandhana (50) and Shafali Verma (43) set the tone, amassing 98 for the first wicket and despite falling in consecutive balls, a thunderous 52 from Harmanpreet Kaur carried India to 172 for three in Dubai.
India defended the highest total of the tournament ruthlessly, bowling Sri Lanka out for 90 as the Lions’ group-stage exit was confirmed following their third successive defeat.
After India opted to bat, Verma assumed the role as early aggressor and reached 2,000 T20I runs in the process, becoming the youngest player to reach the milestone.
Opening partner Mandhana soon joined the party, striking the first six of the game off the final ball of the seventh over to bring up the 50 partnership.
Mandhana then threatened to steal the show, moving past Verma with a couple of gorgeous lofted boundary strokes into the off side before bringing up her 50 off just 36 balls.
#T20WorldCup #INDvSL
— The Field (@thefield_in) October 9, 2024
India bowl out Sri Lanka for just 90 runs to secure an 82-run win!
Harmanpreet Kaur and Co climb to second in group A and improve their net run rate to 0.58
IND: 172/3 (20 overs)
SL: 90/10 (19.5 overs)
📷: Disney+Hotstarhttps://t.co/RQwQhrZsgi pic.twitter.com/qclpCljn08
But just as India...