Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Harmanpreet-inspired Indian top-order rise to the occasion against Sri Lanka

The India women’s cricket team on Wednesday achieved exactly what they hoped for in their Women’s T20 World Cup Group A match against Sri Lanka — A  victory by a huge margin, 82 runs to be exact. India entered the contest on the back of a “not-so-convincing” win against Pakistan in their second match, that came only a few days after a humiliating 58-run loss to New Zealand.

Against Pakistan, India were not just desperate for a victory but needed to do so by a big margin. They had to chase down a target of 106 in just 11 overs to have a better net run rate (NRR) than their opponent, but instead took the chase deep, sealing the game only with 7 balls to spare and that also after a few nervy and worrisome moments including a neck injury for skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

As it happened |   India vs Sri Lanka, Women’s T20 World Cup

However, Harmanpreet’s injury worries were eased when vice-captain Smriti Mandhana confirmed that she was fit and ready to play against Sri Lanka. And on Wednesday, Harmanpreet did justice to Mandhana’s words.

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The 35-year-old returned to her “zone” scoring 52 not out off 27 balls, Mandhana (50 off 38) too roared back to form with a 36-ball fifty, whereas Shafali Verma (43 off 40) unfortunately missed out on a half-century.

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Mandhana, Harmanpreet finally standout

One thing was certain from India’s first two matches — the Women in Blue were missing firepower in batting, however, that changed once Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana walked out to bat. It was almost as if we were witnessing a re-energised version of this Indian team.

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A version that we hadn’t seen before much recently, and on the same slow Dubai pitch that was used for the match against Pakistan a few days ago.

So, what changed for India? Rotation of strikes

India’s six-wicket win over Pakistan was far from convincing. In that game, a majority of the batters had questionable strike rates, so much so that Mandhana managed only seven runs off 16 balls against the Women in Green. However, below-par strike rates were not just the only problem for India so far in the tournament. It was also about the lack of rotation of strike.

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana dealt with that aspect calmly against Sri Lanka. The two of them hardly showed any nerves and took a couple of overs to settle down before taking the aggressive route. Anticipating some turn due to the slow nature of the pitch, Sri Lanka began with spinners from either end. Inoshi Priyadharshini and Sugandika Kumari, the two spinners, safely saw off the first two overs, with just 10 runs off those.

However, the third over was when Shafali really got going with a boundary. Alternating with the boundaries, Shafali and Mandhana regularly collected those ones and twos which frustrated the opposition spinners.

Once the two settled down, Shafali and Mandhana dictated the proceedings. Mandhana brought up India’s first six of this T20 World Cup at the end of the seventh over, hammering a ball from Inoka Ranaweera over wide long-on.

It wasn’t, however, always a walk in the park for these two batters. Boundaries had dried up between the 10th and 12th over, but thanks to some fiery batting in the second half of the powerplay, the pressure of putting runs on the board had eased a bit. Mandhana got to her fifty in the 13th over but was soon run out at the bowlers’ end.

However, the dismissals of Mandhana, and later Shafali, did not hinder India’s chances one bit, because the platform was set and vintage Harmanpreet was back in form. Harmapreet took Chamari Athapaththu and Ama Kanchana to the cleaners, hitting regular boundaries, and Sri Lankans were not just victims of a poor bowling display, but an underwhelming fielding display that led to the team’s misery.

Batting wasn't the only thing that ticked for India on Wednesday. While the batters had struggled to find a rhythm, the bowlers remained consistent. And there were a couple of standout performers again.

Arundhati, Asha play a defining role; Renuka gives India perfect start

India once again missed Pooja Vastrakar, who continues to be ruled out with an injury. However, that wasn’t a problem as Arundhati Reddy, another worthy seamer who is as good as Pooja, stepped up to the occasion.

Arundhati conceded all but two boundaries during her four-over spell and consistently unleashed those full-length deliveries that frustrated the Lankan batters. Much like Arundhati, spinner Asha Sobhana was able to contain the flow of runs and put India in control.

The likes of Sugandika Kumari and Anushka Sanjeewani brought out the sweep shots against Asha, and failed miserably, with Kumari even getting similarly dismissed by Asha.

Earlier in the chase, it was Renuka Singh who gave India the perfect start they needed, with two scalps in the powerplay. With the score reading 28/3 after 6 overs, the pressure was already on Sri Lanka and it became a question of how long the Lankans could resist.

India must go into the virtual quarter-final against Australia in the same rhythm. Two wins after losing the first game comprehensively is always a good sign of progress but in a crunch situation like this, there’s no room for complacency. Not when a semi-final spot is at stake with two other teams, New Zealand and Pakistan, actively competing against India for the same. One can after all only hope that such a clinical performance from India wasn’t just a one-off.