Nilakshi de Silva, Harshitha Samarawickrama fifties power SL in narrow win

Sri Lanka Wins Narrowly Over India in Women's ODI

Sri Lanka's Nilakshi de Silva and Harshitha Samarawickrama scored crucial half-centuries to power their team to a narrow three-wicket win over India in the Women's ODI in Colombo on Sunday (May 4).

India's Batting Performance

India put up a strong total of 275/9, with Richa Ghosh top-scoring with 58 runs off 48 balls. Smriti Mandhana exited for 18 in the 10th over, but Pranika Rawal and Harleen Deol added 51 and 50 runs respectively to the total. Jemimah Rodrigues (37 off 46) and Richa Ghosh took charge in the middle overs, but Chamari Athapaththu broke their alliance by trapping Rodrigues leg before.

Sri Lanka's Chase

Sri Lanka's chase was powered by a 78-run partnership between Vishmi Gunaratne and Samarawickrama, which took the hosts past the 100-run mark by the 21st over. India caused a mini-wobble, reducing Sri Lanka from 108/1 to 152/4 in under 10 overs. But Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshi hit back with a fighting stand worth 57 off 6.2 overs, hitting 10 fours and three sixes between them.

Final Over Thriller

Rana then struck twice to remove Dilhari and Dewmi Vihanga, leaving Sri Lanka in a spot of bother. But Nilakshi's fiery 33-ball effort ended in the 43rd over, bringing the eighth-wicket pair of Anushka and Sugandika together. They brought the chase down to just 16 off the last four overs, which was further reduced to 2 off 6. Anushka got the winning runs with a four on the first ball of the final over.

Brief Scores

• India Women: 275/9 in 50 overs (Richa Ghosh 58, Pratika Rawal 35; Sugandika Kumari 3-44, Chamari Athapaththu 3-43)
• Sri Lanka: 278/7 in 49.1 overs (Nilakshi de Silva 56, Harshitha Samarawickrama 53; Sneh Rana 3-45)