India women won the toss and chose to bowl first in the third and final T20I against Sri Lanka women at the Greenfield International Stadium Thiruvananthapuram on December 26.
India, who are already leading the series 2-0, made three changes to their playing XI and brought in Renuka Singh and Deepti Sharma in place of Sneh Rana and Arundhati.
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India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, after winning the toss, said:
"We’re going to bowl first. With the conditions and the dew likely to come in, we felt this was the best option. Also, with the series on the line, we wanted to back our strength and keep things simple. The message has been clear from the start - even at the hotel before we came to the ground. This is an important match, a great opportunity to seal the series, so we need to play with confidence, stick to our plans and enjoy our cricket. We want to be more aggressive in the powerplay so Renuka is back, Deepti is also back. Sneh and Arundhati are resting.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka skipper Chamari Athapaththu, after losing the toss, said:
"We would have bowled as well if we had won the toss. I’ve told them to just play their natural cricket. We have a few youngsters and this is a really good platform for them to show their color. The group is young, the team is still developing and every game is a learning opportunity. The World Cup is coming up and it is a good chance to play some good cricket. We have three changes."
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India Women's Playing XI:
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Richa Ghosh(w), Deepti Sharma, Amanjot Kaur, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Renuka Singh Thakur, Shree Charani
Sri Lanka Women's Playing XI:
Chamari Athapaththu(c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nimesha Madushani, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Imesha Dulani, Kaushani Nuthyangana(w), Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Malki Madara
Pitch and Conditions
"The venue here is superb; the stadium is good, fair side boundary and lush green outfield. The dimensions - 70 meters down the track, 59 and 60 meters square. The pitch is looking good. It is a good wicket to bat. It is rolled very well, there is hardness on this wicket, so the consistent bounce well help good strokeplay. There might not be too much turn, the ball can skid a little bit and that will help the batters. For the seamers, it will help, there is a bit of green and with the conditions - gentle breeze and under lights - the ball can nip around off the wicket. There will be a little bit of dew, not as much as Vizag but there will be decent dew," WV Raman and Mithali Raj analysed the pitch.