Dubai: Form is temporary, class is permanent. India opener Smriti Mandhana proved her mettle, breaking the shackles to return to form and lead her team to an 82-run win in the crucial Group A match against Sri Lanka in the Women’s Twenty20 World Cup at the Dubai International Stadium on Wednesday.
After two lacklustre performances with the bat, the Indian women displayed full intent, scoring a commanding total of 172 for three. Mandhana and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur both notched half-centuries, while Shafali Varma contributed a solid 43.
In response, Sri Lanka, who had upset India in their previous encounter at the Asia Cup final, found themselves in deep trouble within the first three overs. They lost openers Vishmi Gunaratne, skipper Chamari Athapaththu, and Harshitha Samarawickrama to India’s Renuka Singh Thakur and Shreyanka Patil. The writing was on the wall from there, as Sri Lanka collapsed to 90 all out. Leg-spinner Asha Shobana and pacer Arundhati Reddy claimed three wickets each, sealing a dominant win for India.
Mandhana shakes off struggles to find her rhythm
At the start of her innings, Mandhana was struggling, with the lack of runs clearly weighing on her mind. Her timing was off, and she failed to connect properly in her first 13 balls. However, a lofted straight shot during the last over of the powerplay seemed to reignite her form, transforming her game.
The left-hander, who had been conspicuously out of touch, soon began to toy with the Sri Lankan bowling, racing to a half-century off another 25 balls. Mandhana’s return to form eased the pressure on her opening partner, Shafali Varma, who shifted to a supporting role after a quick start. Their partnership blossomed at the right time, giving skipper Harmanpreet Kaur the freedom to accelerate in the latter part of the innings.
'We really were pumped up today'
Mandhana reflected on her performance during the mid-innings break, saying, “The conditions are not what you thought they would be when you came to the World Cup. The last two-three days were spent understanding what shots to play on this surface. It is not a flat wicket to bat on, but once you are set, you start seeing the ball and then know which areas to aim.”
She also praised her teammates, adding, “Shafali batted well in the powerplay and got us off to a good start. Towards the end, the way Harman batted was brilliant.”
Kaur, Varma, and India’s middle order finish strong
Despite Sri Lanka’s twin strikes, including the unfortunate run-out of Mandhana and Varma, who reached the 2,000-run milestone during her 43, India’s momentum never faltered. Kaur, who had a neck injury scare in the previous match, played a captain’s knock, racing to an unbeaten 52 off just 27 balls. Her innings propelled India’s total past the 170-run mark, putting Sri Lanka under immense pressure.
“We just wanted to go with the momentum after Shafali and Smriti gave us a good start,” Kaur said post-match. “It was one of those days when I was in my zone. I went hard at the deliveries in my zone. This wicket wasn’t easy to bat on, so it was important to keep rotating the strike.”
India’s bowlers seal the deal, eye Australia Clash
India’s bowling unit, bolstered by early breakthroughs, left Sri Lanka reeling. The team’s all-round performance was in stark contrast to their first two matches in the tournament. Mandhana, who had led the side in Kaur’s absence, capped off her fine performance with a running catch to end the Sri Lankan innings.
India’s impressive win not only boosted their net run-rate, which had taken a hit after their opening loss to New Zealand, but also kept their semi-final hopes alive. Still, India face a tough challenge ahead as they target a win against six-time champions Australia in Sharjah on Sunday. Alternatively, Sri Lanka could do India a favor by upsetting New Zealand in their next game on Saturday.
Ticking all the boxes
“When you play good cricket, you always feel well. All boxes were ticked today. Happy we took all the catches, which is very important for us. We did discuss before the game if we are batting first what’s the target we want to set and if we are fielding what should be the score, but these wickets are tricky,” Harmanpreet added. “We have to play good cricket against Australia. It’s good to see our bowlers getting in good rhythm and giving us breakthroughs.”
Sri Lanka, who have come with high hopes, are out of the tournament, but they still could play for pride against New Zealand. More than the bowling or batting, the dropped catch off Kaur must have hurt the Islanders more.
“We dropped catches and we didn’t bowl in the right areas. Batters including me and Vishmi didn’t do a good job. Now we have to rethink what we have to do and bounce back. After the first loss, the dressing room was a little down. I try to lift them. Our goal is to improve our batting,” Sri Lanka skipper Athapaththu said.
The Group is now coming to the business end and the next few days will be important for all the teams.
