India Women vs Sri Lanka Women Highlights, 2nd T20I: Shafali Verma Hits 50 As India Beat Sri Lanka By 7 Wickets, Take 2-0 Lead

And with that, it brings an end to another one-sided contest as India Women take a 2–0 lead in the series. The hosts will be keen to carry this momentum forward and wrap things up in the next game, while Sri Lanka Women will be desperate to stay alive in the contest. Our focus now shifts to the 'Boxing Day' clash for the third T20I, to be played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. It begins at 7 pm IST (1.30 pm GMT), but as you know, you can join us early for all the build-up to the game. Until then, cheers and goodbye!

Shafali Verma is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for her excellent knock. She says the ball was holding up a bit early on, so the plan was to play along the ground and take singles. She adds that she has worked on this aspect of her game throughout the year, and mentions that coach Amol Muzumdar has also reminded her to play that way. Shafali gives credit to Sri Lanka for bowling well. She says she kept herself calm and kept talking through the innings. Shares that she learned a lot from this knock and realised she can still score freely by playing shots along the ground. Shafali reflects that cricket always teaches you something and that acceptance is key. Ends by saying that she is trying to improve every day.

Harmanpreet Kaur, the victorious skipper of India, says that she is really happy with the way they bowled in this game. Adds that the bowlers were fantastic and put them in a great position, and then Shafali and other batters finished the job nicely. Mentions that everyone in the bowling department stepped up, and it was great to see. Says that Vaishnavi Sharma was excellent with the ball and she is happy for her getting her maiden wicket after they missed a few chances in the first game. Further adds that they have been working hard on their fielding, and it reflected in this game. Ends by saying that they want to set standards with the bat, and the group has a very positive mindset.

Chamari Athapaththu, the captain of Sri Lanka, says they had a good Powerplay but struggled through the middle overs and praises India for bowling to clear plans. She admits they relied too heavily on horizontal-bat shots rather than hitting straight, something they are keen to improve. Chamari adds that batting first, they need to post at least 150 to be competitive and defend totals. She feels the side must improve how they approach both the middle and death overs, stressing that while rotating strike is important, hitting boundaries consistently is crucial.

Presentation Time...

There is not a lot to say about Sri Lanka Women’s bowling, although to be fair, they did not have enough runs on the board to work with. The pacers struggled for control with the new ball, leaking too many extras, and that is something you simply cannot afford when defending such a modest target. Still, Kavisha Dilhari, Kawya Kavindi, and Malki Madara picked up a wicket apiece, but there is plenty for Sri Lanka to ponder if they are to challenge this strong Indian side.

Earlier in the game, after being put into bat and getting a steady start, Sri Lanka Women lost momentum in the latter half of their innings and were restricted to 128/9. Captain Chamari Athapaththu looked fluent at the top and led the scoring with 31, while Harshitha Samarawickrama and Hasini Perera provided useful support. However, a steady fall of wickets prevented them from accelerating at the death. India’s bowlers kept things tight, with Sneh Rana impressing by conceding just 11 runs while picking up a wicket. Vaishnavi Sharma claimed her maiden WT20I wicket and finished with two. Sree Charani also bagged a brace, and Kranti Gaud added one more.

India Women got off to a flying start in the chase, and even though Smriti Mandhana fell early, it hardly made a difference. Shafali Verma was outstanding with the bat, finding the boundaries at will and constantly putting the bowlers under pressure. She and Jemimah Rodrigues took the attack to the opposition, racing away with a rapid 58-run stand that effectively sealed the deal. Jemimah could not see it through, departing after a brisk 26 off 15, but Shafali continued her merry march and brought up a superb half-century. She remained unbeaten on 69 off 34, with Richa Ghosh walking in to strike the winning runs.

Now that is a truly commanding performance if you have ever seen one! India Women needed 14.4 overs to chase down 122 in the first game, and they have gone one better here, overhauling 129 in under 12 overs. It underlines just how dominant they were with the bat, but plenty of credit must also go to the bowlers and fielders, who laid the foundation for this win with a series of outstanding performances. This victory also marks Harmanpreet Kaur’s 76th WT20I win as captain, drawing her level with Australia's Meg Lanning as the joint-most in the format.

Richa Ghosh hits the winning runs! Madara bowls it on a short of a length, Richa hangs on the back foot and punches it wide of extra cover for a single. India romp home with 49 balls to spare and go 2-0 up in the series!

Richa Ghosh is the next batter in.

OUT! TIMBER! Kaur's cheeky attempt does not quite come off. Loopy slower ball, dipping on the batter, on middle and leg. Harmanpreet walks across her stumps and gets low to paddle it away, but misses it completely, and the ball crashes into the leg pole. 10 (12) for the Indian skipper.

At the stumps, full in length, Verma advances and plays it down to long on for one. Scores are level!

Full and on middle, Kaur nurdles it square on the leg side for a run.

Low full toss, on off, Verma knocks it wide of extra cover for a single.

Shafali Verma was caught napping but she is lucky to get away! At the sticks, full in length, Harmanpreet Kaur gets down on a knee and sweeps it hard, wide of deep mid-wicket. Nilakshika Silva sprints and dives to her right in the deep. The replays suggest that Shafali thought that the ball went for four and she was strolling across to exchange fist bumps with her skipper, which is when Kaur shouted at her to get across to the other end quickly and complete the second run. The throw from the deep landed a few yards in front of the stumps at the bowling end and it was picked up by the bowler. Shashini turned around and had a shy at her end but missed. Shafali dived to get home but had the throw hit, she would have been out.

Floated up, fuller and on off, Shafali checks her drive to cover, where a misfield from Vishmi Gunarathne allows a single. India are now one big hit away.

FOUR MORE! Another half-tracker, this time, pushed across the right-hander. Shafali backs away and punches it away. She manages to beat the diving Chamari Athapaththu at extra cover to her left for another boundary.

FOUR! Put away! Gimhani continues to be a bit too short, on middle. The ball keeps a bit low but Verma manages to adjust to the bounce and pulls it wide of deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

Tighter line but a bit too short, Kaur pulls it to deep mid-wicket for a single.