India secured an unassailable lead in the five-match series by defeating Sri Lanka by 8 wickets in the third T20. In the match played at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on December 26, after a brilliant bowling performance by the Indian bowlers, Shafali Verma's explosive unbeaten innings of 79 runs led the team to an easy victory.
Renuka works wonders
Sri Lanka, after losing the toss, decided to bat first. Their start was not good. Hasini Perera scored 25 runs, while Chamari Atapattu could only manage 3 runs. Harshitha Samarawickrama contributed 2 runs and Imesha Dulani added 27 runs. Kavisha Dilhari scored 20 runs, which helped Sri Lanka reach a total of 112 runs.
The Indian bowlers bowled tightly. Renuka Singh Thakur took the most wickets, claiming 4. Deepti Sharma also took 3 wickets, preventing Sri Lanka from posting a big score. Thanks to the brilliant performance of these two bowlers, the Sri Lankan team could not put up a large total.
Shafali Verma shines
The Indian team, chasing the target, had a slightly shaky start. Smriti Mandhana was dismissed after scoring just 1 run. Jemimah Rodrigues also returned to the pavilion after scoring 9 runs. But after that, Shafali Verma single-handedly turned the tide of the match. She thrashed the Sri Lankan bowlers and played an unbeaten innings of 79 runs off 42 balls. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur also played a quick-fire innings of 21 runs off 18 balls, leading the team to victory. India won the match by 8 wickets and clinched the series.
For Sri Lanka, Kavisha Dilhari took both wickets. She was the only bowler to take wickets for Sri Lanka.
