India Delivers A Batting-Dominated Win In Fourth T20

India continued its run of form in the five-match T20 series against Sri Lanka with a resounding win in the fourth match on Sunday. Although the Indian team has already won the series, it made a strong start with its bat to register an easy win.

Explosive Opening Creates a Foundation

India scored a mammoth total of 221 runs for the loss of just two wickets in the allotted 20 overs. The opening duo, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma, gave the team a solid start with their aggressive opening partnership. Smriti scored 80 runs off 48 balls, featuring 11 fours and three sixes. Shafali scored 79 runs off 46 balls, featuring 12 fours and one six.
Shafali started aggressively, whereas Smriti started building her innings before accelerating the pace of scoring. Both the batsmen completed their half-century in quick time, with Shafali reaching the milestone in 30 balls and Smriti in 35 balls. India reached the mark of 100 in the 11th over and the mark of 150 in the 15th over.

Late Acceleration Pushes India Past 220

After the openers left, Richa Ghosh continued where they left off with an unbeaten 40 from 16 deliveries that featured four fours and three sixes. The 19th over saw her hit a series of fours that ensured the team broke the 200 barrier. Richa Ghosh further contributed an unbeaten 53-run partnership with captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who remained unbeaten on 16.
India finished with 221 for 2, and this is the highest total the country has made in the women's T20 international cricket matches. The previous record was 217 for 4 set against West Indies.

Sri Lanka Fights but Falls Short

Sri Lanka replied with a better batting performance than the initial matches but struggled to maintain the required pace. They ended up with 191/6 in 20 overs. This is their highest total in a T20 international outing.
The good start was provided by Hasini Perera and Chamari Athapaththu. Hasini contributed 33 runs in 20 balls, and Chamari top-scored with 52 runs in 37 balls. Following the fall of Hasini, Chamari was supported by a good knock of 29 runs by Imesha Dulani. As soon as Chamari was out in the 13th over, Sri Lanka slowly fell behind the target. Though contributions were made by Harshitha, Nilakshika, and other players, the result was already determined.

Bowling Effort from India

The bowlers of India shared the wickets. Arundhati took two wickets, and Vaishnavi Sharma also took two wickets. Sri Charani took one wicket. The bowling team was applying pressure on the Sri Lankan team despite their better batting performance.

Smriti Mandhana Achieves Historic Milestone

Smriti Mandhana celebrated a personal milestone in this innings. She is now the fastest-ever woman cricketer to score 10,000 international runs. She has achieved this milestone in this match, where she has scored 80 runs to reach this total.
Smriti reached the feat in 281 innings, surpassing the erstwhile record held by Mithali Raj, who reached the mark in 291 innings. Smriti's total tally in her career encompasses 5,322 runs in the ODI format, 4,102 runs in T20 matches, and 629 runs in Test cricket.