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Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bowl first in Women's ODI World Cup 2025 opener against India at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on September 30.
“We are bowling first. I am pretty confident about my bowling unit so we are bowling first. It is a good batting track but there could be some dew later on. We are going with seven batters. The prep has been good. Next five games we are playing in Sri Lanka, I hope we can bring out our best in the competition,” Athapaththu said after winning the toss.
Harmanpreet said that she would’ve bowled first as well. She announced that each player is fit and wants Smriti Mandhana to continue her rich vein in form at the big stage. She opted to play Sneh Rana ahead of pacer Arundhati Reddy and Renuka Singh Thakur.
“We were looking to bowl as well. Looks very good, hopefully we will put up a good score. Everyone is fit, we are going in with three spinners and two pacers. She has been fantastic for us, hopefully she (Smriti) continues to do well. Today is a great opportunity to play good cricket again,” she said at the coin toss.
Injured during the warm-up clash against England, Reddy returned to the field against New Zealand in warm-up clash and claimed two wickets. On the other hand, Renuka claimed one wicket in the warm-up games. She wasn't at her best in the ODI series against the might Australians.
Rana's selection against Sri Lanka is justified as she has taken 14 wickets from seven ODIs against them at an average of 12.64, including a four-fer.
India Playing XI
Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harleen Deol, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Sneh Rana, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani.
Sri Lanka Playing XI
Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Achini Kulasuriya, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoka Ranaweera.
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