India gave their semi-final hopes a major boost with an 82-run win over Sri Lanka to knock them out of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
After being thumped by New Zealand in their opening match last week, India beat rivals Pakistan at the weekend and delivered a dominant performance against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, which left the losing side to join Scotland as the second team to crash out of the World Cup.
India are now second behind Australia in Group A with a run rate of 0.58, which is 0.02 higher than Pakistan in third, who have one less win but played one less match.
India set a tournament-high run chase of 172-3 after they won the toss, with opening batters Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana taking 98 runs between them.
Mandhana was on a half century when Sri Lanka finally got their first wicket and ran her out, before Verma quickly followed with the next ball.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who recovered from a minor neck injury after slipping towards the end of their win against Pakistan, added 52 more runs to her country’s total.
India’s Smriti Mandhana had a half century
Jemimah Rodrigues was caught by Udeshika Prabodhani but herself and Richa Ghosh contributed to India’s impressive score.
Sri Lanka got off to a terrible start in the run chase as opener Vishmi Gunaratne went for a duck after a great catch from India substitute fielded Radha Yadav.
That set the tone for the rest of the match and Sri Lanka never looked like challenging India’s run total as they were bowled out for 90.
What’s next?
India return return to action against Australia in Sharjah on Sunday, with that match live on Sky Sports from 2.30pm ahead of the first ball at 3pm.
Sri Lanka face New Zealand on Saturday at 11am in a crucial match for the White Ferns.
Thursday’s match at the T20 World Cup is the Group B cracker between Bangladesh and the West Indies in Sharjah, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event at 2.30pm (first ball at 3pm). Both sides know a win will give them a big boost to reach the semi-finals.
Watch every match of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports, concluding with the final in Dubai on Sunday October 20. You can also stream the tournament and more with NOW