Sports
Clinical India Outclasses Sri Lanka to Seal Emphatic Victory in World Cup Encounter
The India Women’s team continued their impressive run in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 with a solid performance against Sri Lanka Women in yesterday’s clash. The match, played at a packed stadium, showcased the growing strength of women’s cricket in the subcontinent and kept fans glued till the very end.
Toss and First Innings
India won the toss and elected to bat first. The opening partnership provided a steady start, with Smriti Mandhana playing her trademark elegant strokes on the off-side. Supported well by Shafali Verma, India built momentum in the powerplay.
The middle order, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, accelerated in the latter half of the innings. Harmanpreet’s aggressive strokeplay combined with Jemimah Rodrigues’ calm approach helped India post a competitive total of around 260+ runs. Sri Lanka’s bowlers, especially Inoka Ranaweera, showed discipline and picked up key wickets, but the Indian batters managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Sri Lanka’s Chase
Chasing a challenging target, Sri Lanka started positively with Chamari Athapaththu leading from the front. She played some attacking shots and gave hope to the Lankan fans. However, once India introduced their spinners, the game began to tilt.
Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad were the standout bowlers, applying pressure in the middle overs and taking crucial wickets. Despite a fighting knock from Athapaththu, Sri Lanka struggled to keep up with the required run rate and eventually fell short by 40–50 runs.
Key Performances
- Smriti Mandhana – Anchored the innings with a classy half-century.
- Harmanpreet Kaur – Provided momentum with a quickfire knock.
- Deepti Sharma – Controlled the game with her all-round performance.
- Chamari Athapaththu – Lone warrior for Sri Lanka with an attacking innings.
What This Means
With this victory, India strengthens their position in the World Cup points table and boosts their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will need to regroup quickly and look for stronger contributions from the middle order to stay alive in the tournament.
Conclusion
The match highlighted the depth and balance of the Indian Women’s team, while also reflecting Sri Lanka’s fighting spirit. As the World Cup progresses, both teams will look to sharpen their strategies for upcoming games.