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Harmanpreet Kaur-led India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-ODI series with style. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma’s record opening partnership helped India beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets with 24.2 overs to spare.
Dominating batting display
Chasing a target of 174, India got off to a good start. The two openers posted 55 on the board in the first 10 overs. Both batters looked comfortable in the middle and targetted the bad ball. Mandhana got to her half-century in the 18th over whereas Shafali reached the milestone in 23rd. Mandhana upped the ante towards the end and targetted three figures. The southpaw could not get to her century. She scored 94 runs from 83 deliveries including 11 fours and one six. On the other end, Shafali got most of runs via running between the wickets. She remained unbeaten for run-a-ball 71 including four fours and one six.
Records broken
The unbeaten 174-run opening stand by Shafali and Smriti is highest for India against Sri Lanka in the format. The previous record belonged to Sulakshana Naik and Thirush Kamini. The two former Indian openers shared an unbeaten 151-run partnership against Sri Lanka at Jaipur in 2006. Also, this is the highest opening partnership in run chases for India.
Renuka makes new ball talk
Earlier, Harmanpreet won the toss and opted to field first. The decision turned out to be a fruitful one as Renuka Singh struck in first over to get Hasini Perera's wicket. In the powerplay overs, she struck again to get the wicket of Vishmi Gunaratne. Sri Lanka found themselves in deep trouble early on. Harshitha Madavi failed again with the bat and bagged a three-ball duck. Renuka wreaked havoc with the new ball taking three wickets in her first four overs.
Wickets fall at regular intervals
Skipper Chamari Athapaththu tried to steady the ship with Anushka Sanjeewani. Just when a partnership was building, Meghna Singh struck and got the wicket of the in-form batter. Chamari got out for a 45-ball 27. Anushka got the start but got run out in the 23rd over. Sri Lanka were reduced to 70/5 before the halfway stage. The situation did not improve for them and Kavisha Dilhari got run out as well in the 25th over.
Nilakshi de Silva and Ama Kanchana helped Sri Lanka recover. The two shared a crucial 42-run partnership for the seventh wicket. However, once again, Nilakshi could not get a big score. She got out after scoring 32 runs from 62 deliveries. Meghna Singh got the much-needed breakthrough. Kanchana batted with the tail and helped Sri Lanka post a near-respectable total. She remained unbeaten for 47 off 83 deliveries. Sri Lanka got all out in 50 overs and posted 173 runs on the board. For India, Renuka bagged a four-wicket haul whereas Meghna and Deepti got two wickets each.
