India moved to a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series after a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA Stadium. Chasing a modest target of 129, the hosts reached the mark in just 11.5 overs, finishing the game with 49 balls to spare. While the series opener was a more contested affair, this second match saw India’s top order dismantle the Sri Lankan bowling attack, maintaining a run rate of nearly 11 per over throughout the chase.
Shafali Verma bullied through the Sri-Lankan attack, with an unbeaten 69 off 34 balls, including her 12th T20I half-century. After Smriti Mandhana fell early, Shafali partnered with Jemimah Rodrigues to put on a 58-run stand in under five overs. Shafali particularly targeted the spinners, taking 14 runs off a single over from Chamari Athapaththu.
"Cricket always teaches you things, it’s important to accept weaknesses. That’s the only way you can improve," Shafali said after the match. "I kept myself calm, tried to play along the ground and the ball was coming on nicely."
Earlier in the evening, Sri Lanka struggled to build on a promising start, eventually finishing at 128/9. Captain Chamari Athapaththu provided some early momentum with 31 off 24 balls, but her dismissal by Sneh Rana, who filled in for the unwell Deepti Sharma, triggered a collapse.
Sri Lanka’s middle order faltered under pressure, losing five wickets for just 19 runs in the closing stages. The visitors were also hampered by poor running between the wickets, recording three run-outs for the second consecutive game.
The match also went as a comeback for young left-arm spinner Sree Charani. After a difficult debut where she dropped two catches, she returned figures of 2/22 and took the catch that secured Vaishnavi Sharma her first international wicket. Sharma finished with 2/23, having also dismissed Shashini Gimhani.
The victory allowed Harmanpreet Kaur to equal Meg Lanning’s record of 76 T20I wins as an international captain. "Really happy with the way we bowled. Bowlers took responsibility and put us into a good situation," Kaur noted during the post-match presentation.
With the Visakhapatnam leg of the tour concluded, the teams will now travel to Thiruvananthapuram for the remaining three fixtures. Sri Lanka faces an uphill battle to stay in the series, having struggled to find the boundary regularly against India's spin trio of Rana, Charani, and Sharma, who combined for figures of 5/66.