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Harmanpreet Kaur-led India start off the three-ODI series with a comfortable win against Sri Lanka. Pooja Vastrakar finished the run chase in style like MS Dhoni with a six as India won the match by four wickets at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Shafali attacks despite wickets
Chasing a below par target of 172, India lost two crucial wickets early in the innings. Oshadi Ranasinghe got the wickets of opener Smriti Mandhana and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia for single-digit scores. The big positive for India was Shafali Verma playing her natural game in the powerplay overs. Shafali scored 35 runs including one four and two sixes before getting stumped out in the 16th over.
Harmanpreet-Harleen take control
Skipper Harmanpreet looked in control and shared a crucial partnership with Harleen Deol for the fourth wicket. Harmanpreet missed her half-century as she got out lbw in the 25th over. Inoka Ranaweera got another wicket in her next over with the wicket of Harleen. The 24-year-old scored 34 runs from 30 deliveries including two boundaries.
Vastrakar finishes it off
After two quick wickets, hosts got the wicket of youngster Richa Ghosh as well. With six wickets down, Lankans looked to add more pressure on the visitors. While Deepti Sharma dealt in singles, Vastrakar decided that she wants to finish the game off early. In the 38th over, she hit Ranasinghe for two sixes and finished the run chase in style. Richa remained unbeaten for 21 off 19 deliveries with Deepti (22) playing sensible on the other end.
Big wickets fall
Earlier, Chamari Athapaththu won the toss and opted to bat first. Chamari got out early in the third over to Renuka Singh after scoring just two runs. Hansima Karunaratne could not rotate the strike and got out for an 11-ball duck. India's right-arm off-spinner Deepti Sharma got her wicket in the powerplay overs.
Crucial wickets for visitors
Opener Hasini Perera and Harshitha Madavi looked to get Sri Lanka's first innings back on track. Again, Deepti broke the partnership with the wicket of Hasini. She scored 37 runs from 54 deliveries. Skipper Harmanpreet gave Sri Lanka another shock by getting the wicket of Kavisha Dilhari for a two-ball duck. Vastrakar got back into the attack and got the wicket of Madavi (28). In 23rd over, Sri Lanka had half their side back in the pavillion for a score of 85.
Nilakshi shows promise
Nilakshi de Silva batted well while wicketkeeper-batter Anushka Sanjeewani played too many dot deliveries and pressure got to her. Anushka got out for a 48-ball 18 to Rajeshwari Gayakwad. Nilakshi did the bulk of scoring while batting with Ranasinghe. Nilakshi lost her wicket in the 42nd over. She missed her half-century and got out after scoring 43 runs. Renuka got the crucial wicket before the slog overs.
Poor finish
Towards the end of the innings, Sri Lankan tailenders struggled to score. With 10 balls remaining in the innings, Sri Lanka got all out for 171. For India, Renuka and Deepti took three wickets each whereas Vastrakar bagged a couple.
