India ride on Harmanpreet Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues' knocks to beat Sri Lanka by 51 runs, clinch T20 series 4-0

Katunayake: Indian women ended their tour of Sri Lanka in style with a comprehensive 51-run win against the hosts in the fifth and final T20 International on Tuesday. India thus clinched the series 4-0 with the second match being abandoned due to rain. [caption id=“attachment_3842031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Harmanpreet Kaur. AP[/caption] Batting first, India scored a commendable 156 in 18.3 overs with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur smashing her way to 63 off 38 balls. Her innings comprised three fours and five huge sixes. Jemimah Rodrigues, who had a dream series, contributed 46 off 31 balls with six boundaries and a six. Sri Lanka were all out for 105 in 17.4 overs with leg-spinner Poonam Yadav being the pick of the bowlers with 3/18 in 4 overs. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav also chipped in with two wickets apiece. The T20 series has all about Jemimah’s coming of age performance for the senior side. Her sequence of scores in the T20 series is 36, 57, 52 not out and 46. During this match, along with her skipper, she added 75 runs in 7.1 over before a batting collapse hit India. Save the duo and ODI captain Mithali Raj (12), none of the others could reach double figures. Off-spinners Shashikala Siriwardene (3/19) and Priyadarshini Fernando (3/24) were the wreckers in chief. However, Harmanpreet’s power hitting got India past 150-run mark. Sri Lanka were never in the chase and their end came swiftly with last five wickets falling for only 11 runs. From 94 for five, they were all out for 105 as most of their players went for needless shots under pressure. Brief Scores: India 156 all out in 18.3 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 63 off 38 balls, Jemimah Rodrigues 46 off 31 balls, Shashikala Siriwardene 3/19, Priyadharshini Fernando 3/19) Sri Lanka 105 in 17.4 overs (Poonam Yadav 3/18, Radha Yadav 2/14). India won by 51 runs. India win five-match series 4-0.