Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur scored sparkling half-centuries as India recovered from a precarious position to get to 269/8 in 47 overs on a rain hit day in Guwahati. India were in trouble at 124/6 at one stage, but India recovered through the stand of Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma to recover and get to a competitive total in the end.
Inoka Ranaweera was the star with a 4-wicket haul as her three-wicket burst dented India big time. Udeshika Prabodhani picked up 2 wickets while Achini Kulasuriya and Chamari Athapaththu got a wicket each. Sri Lanka dropped multiple catches and that helped India recover from a precarious position setting the match up nicely.
Smriti Mandhana falls early as Sri Lanka restricts India before rain arrives after 10 overs
Put into bat first, Pratika Rawal and Smriti Mandhana came out to bat for India. Achini Kulasuriya had ball in hand for Sri Lanka. Rawal managed to get a boundary away through covers. Udeshika Prabodhani took the ball from the other end and bowled a maiden over. Mandhana took the attack to Kulsariya by hitting her for back-to-back boundaries. Prabodhani got the prized scalp of Mandhana for 8 off 10 balls with 2 fours to her name.
Prabodhani bowled a fuller length outside off-stump. Mandhana decided to take it on and she came down the track and threw her hands at it and got the leading edge to deep point where Gunaratne took the catch. Harleen Deol came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary through midwicket region. Kulasuriya bowled a tight over while Deol managed to get a boundary away off Prabodhani.
Rawal pulled Kulasuriya over midwicket region for a boundary. Things started to rebuild for India as Deol hit Prabodhani for a boundary through third man. Sugandika Kumari came into the attack next and bowled a decent over. Prabodhani bowled a decent over as India after the first 10 overs of powerplay were 43/1 when rain arrived and interrupted play for more than an hour and reduced the game to 48 overs a side.
Harleen Deol keeps things steady after Rawal falls as India look to surge forward
Kulasuriya started after the lengthy delay and bowled a quiet over. Prabodhani had the ball from the other end and bowled a miserly over as India had to start again. Runs came in singles for the time being. The 50 came up for India in 14 overs. Kavisha Dilhari came into the attack next. She started off well as well. Rawal broke the shackles as she dispatched Kumari for the maximum down the ground.
Dilhari bowled a quiet over as the 50-run stand came up between the two batters. Deol hit Kumari down the ground for a boundary over mid-off. Rawal hit Dilhari for a boundary via the outside edge wide off the keeper. Inoka Ranaweera came into the attack and removed Rawal for 37 off 59 balls with 3 fours and a maximum to her name.
She bowled a full and flighted delivery on the middle stump line and invited Rawal outside her crease. She swung across the line and didn’t get all of it. Gunaratne moved to her left and took the catch in the end. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur came out to bat next. India were 84/2 in 20 overs.
Dilhari bowled a decent over. Kaur managed to get a boundary off Ranaweera through square leg region. Dilhari bowled a decent over. The 100 came up for India in 23.1 overs. Kaur hit Ranaweera for a boundary through point region. Chamari Athapaththu came into the attack as Deol hit her for back-to-back boundaries down the ground and through covers. India were 120/2 in 25 overs.
Ranaweera’s triple strike in an over pegs India back
Ranaweera got the breakthrough and dismissed Deol for 48 off 64 balls with 6 fours to her name. She bowled a full length delivery on off-stump. Deol tried to drive through covers and misjudged the pace and played a bit early. She hit it off the bottom of the bat and chipped it to Dilhari at extra covers. Jemimah Rodrigues came out to bat next and got dismissed first ball.
Length ball on middle stump turning away, Jemimah pressed forward with a straight bat away from pads and plays for the straight ball. The ball spun past her to beat the outside edge and hit the middle of off-stump. Deepti Sharma came in and survived the hat-trick ball. Ranaweera got another in the over as Kaur was dismissed for 21 off 19 balls with 2 fours to her name.
She bowled a short of a length arm ball outside off-stump. Kaur looked to cut it away and got an edge to the keeper. Anushka kept her hands in the right place and took the catch. Richa Ghosh came out to bat and got off the mark straightaway. Chamari joined in the fun as she dismissed Richa Ghosh for 2 off 6 balls. Chamari bowled a good length delivery pitching wide of the off-stump. She rocked back deep in her crease and used her wrists to cut the ball square on the off-side. She hit it uppishly to pick up Prabodhani at cover point. Amanjot Kaur came into bat with India reeling at 124/6 in 27 overs.
Ranaweera bowled a quiet over. Deepti managed to hit a boundary by sweeping to deep backward square leg. Deepti hit another boundary by sweeping it to short fine leg for a boundary. Kaur hit Ranaweera for a boundary through mid-on as india reached 144/6 in 30 overs.
Deepti Sharma & Amanjot Kaur leads the recovery for India
Dilhari came back into the attack as Kaur hit her fine through long leg for a boundary. The 150 came up for India in 30.3 overs. Kaur hit Ranaweera for a boundary by sweeping it fine past deep backward square leg. Kaur was dropped off Dilhari as Kulasuriya dropped a sitter at backward square leg boundary.
Sugandika Kumari came back into the attack and bowled a miserly over. Kaur launched Dilhari and deposited her over midwicket region for the maximum. The 50-run stand came up between the two players. Deepti Sharma hit Dilhari by sweeping her behind square for a boundary. Kumari continued to keep things tight. Prabodhani came back into the attack as Kaur drove her through the covers for a boundary.
Amanjot got another lifeline as Nilakshi from long-off came in but could not hold on as Kumari was the unlucky bowler. Kaur hit Prabodhani for a boundary through deep square leg. The 200 came up for India Women in 38.5 overs. Amanjot soon got to her fifty in 45 balls and it is her first World Cup game as well. After 40 overs, India were 210/6 when another burst of rain came and delayed play for around 5 minutes and the match was further reduced to 47 overs a side.
Late Flourish from Sneh Rana takes India to 269/8 in 47 overs
Inoka started after the resumption. Kaur was again dropped this time by the bowler off her own bowling. Ranaweera could have got 5 wickets there, but not to be. Kaur survived another scare as the deep midwicket fielder dived but could not hold onto the catch. Soon, the 100-run stand came up between the two players at the crease.
Prabodhani came back into the attack and dismissed Amanjot for a well made 57 off 56 balls with 5 fours and a maximum to her name. She bowled a length delivery on the off-stump line. Amanjot was down on one knee swinging across the line as she played the pick up shot. Deep midwicket ran towards her right and kept her eyes on the ball to put an excellent dive to complete the two-handed catch. Sneh Rana came out to bat next. She got off the mark soon.
Kulasuriya returned and bowled a miserly over. Rana hit Prabodhani for a boundary straight down the ground. Sri Lanka wasted a DRS on Deepti Sharma as there was an inside edge onto her pads as the review was burnt. Deepti got to her fifty in 50 balls. Rana then launched the bowler Prabodhani for the maximum by slog sweeping over midwicket region and the bowler overstepped as well. The Free Hit yielded a single only.
Rana then took the attack to Kulasuriya as she deposited her over midwicket region flat and hard for the maximum. The bowler gave away 4 leg byes to the batting side. Rana then clubbed down the ground off Kulasuriya for a boundary as she split the field nicely. Kulasuriya eventually got Deepti Sharma dismissed off the final ball of the innings for 53 off 53 balls with 3 fours to her name.
She bowled on a length close to the leg stump line and Deepti lost her shape trying to heave the ball in the onside. She got the elevation as the ball went too high in the air but Sugandika Kumari from deep midwicket ran in to slide and take the catch. India finished with 269/8 in 47 overs. Sneh Rana remained unbeaten on 28 off 15 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to her name. 15 extras given by Sri Lanka.
For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/46 in 9 overs. Udeshika Prabodhani chipped in with 2/55 in 10 overs. Chamari Athapaththu chipped in with a wicket and so did Achini Kulasuriya. Sugandika Kumar and Kavisha Dilhari remained wicketless. This meant Sri Lanka’s DLS target was adjusted to 271 runs in 47 overs.
What Lies Ahead
It was a topsy-turvy innings to say the least. Sri Lanka started well and then India hit back with the Deepti Amanjot partnership to take the score from 124/6 to 269/8 in 47 overs on a rain hit day and night in Guwahati. India have runs on the board and will fancy defending the score. Sri Lanka are not out of it by any means. This game can go either ways.
Let’s see how this chase unfolds in the second innings. Sri Lanka needs to start well to make a match out of this one.
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