India secured an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka with an eight-wicket victory at the Greenfield Stadium on Friday. Following their ODI World Cup triumph last month, the hosts restricted Sri Lanka to 112 for seven before chasing the target down with 6.4 overs to spare. The match followed a pattern seen throughout the series, where Sri Lankan batters were often back in the dressing room before one could even blink an eye.
Shafali Verma headlined the chase with a clinical 79 not out off 42 balls, an innings featuring 11 fours and three sixes. Reaching her half-century in just 24 deliveries, Verma accounted for 68.7% of India’s total; a new national record for a completed innings.
Verma, who returned to the side earlier this year following an injury to Pratika Rawal, partnered with captain Harmanpreet Kaur to close out the game. While Smriti Mandhana fell for just one and Jemimah Rodrigues for nine, Verma’s aggressive approach ensured the result was never in doubt.
The victory marked a milestone for Harmanpreet Kaur, who officially became the most successful captain in women’s T20I history. With 77 wins in 130 matches, she surpassed former Australian captain Meg Lanning’s record of 76 victories. Harmanpreet also became the first captain to secure 16 wins against a single opponent in this format.
Earlier in the evening, the "Queen of Swing" Renuka Singh Thakur made an impactful return to T20I cricket after a year-long absence, claiming figures of 4 for 21. Her opening spell removed the dangerous-looking Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama, derailing the Sri Lankan powerplay.
Deepti Sharma provided vital support with 3 for 18, equalling Megan Schutt’s record of 151 wickets to become the joint-highest wicket-taker in women’s T20Is. Deepti also became the first cricketer, male or female, to register both 1,000 runs and 150 wickets in the T20I format.
Sri Lanka’s innings struggled to gain momentum, managing only a 40-run fifth-wicket partnership between Kavisha Dilhari and Imesha Dulani. Despite a brisk start where Hasini Perera took 12 runs off Renuka’s first over, the visitors were frequently pegged back by regular wickets.
The bare nature of the pitch offered little help for spin, prompting Harmanpreet to rely more heavily on her pacers.
