India-W eye continuation of winning momentum with Sri Lanka desperate to open their account

After India returned to winning ways against Pakistan in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the focus now shifts to Sri Lanka in order to keep their campaign afloat. After a defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener followed by a conservative win against Pakistan, now India will have to try and win against all their remaining oppositions which includes the defending world champions, Australia.

With the scoring rate and still a hint of late stutter against Pakistan, the Women in Blue haven’t exactly been comfortable in the UAE conditions. It goes without saying that the heat has been a major concern. Apart from the heat with the upcoming contest being an evening battle, the presence of dew can be another crucial factor for the Indian women.

To add to their growing list of worries, there is still no official update about Harmanpreet Kaur’s neck injury which was copped while trying to save her wicket against Pakistan. However, India do have the firepower to set things right. With a star-studded top-order featuring the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma, even if one of them starts swinging their blade, the entire equation can be different.

India’s bowling, however, was promising against Pakistan and that is going to be key for the Women in Blue against Sri Lanka. With the kind of form exhibited by Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh, Arundhati Reddy and Deepti Sharma, the Indian brigade will be pinning their hopes on these names again.

Sri Lanka themselves have been off to a shaky start to the tournament, losing both their games against Pakistan and Australia. However, the Lankan women also have got a string of destructive names in the side and with Chamari Athapaththu leading the side, expect a good contest of two Asian stalwarts to rock and roll in Dubai. Also, for India, this can be another chance to avenge their earlier defeat in the year against Sri Lanka where the latter walked away with the continental crown.

Venue Watch:

With this being an evening game, dew will make its appearance in the second half, making life a lot easier for the batters. There will be help for the bowlers early on and in the first innings, particularly with the new ball. However, once the ball is old, it is only going to be a batter dominated surface. One can expect a total number of around 280 to 300 runs on the board accumulated across both innings.

Head to Head:

Matches played: 25

India: 19

Sri Lanka: 5

Match Details:

Match – India vs Sri Lanka, Match 12, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

Date: 9th October, 2024

Time: 7:30 PM

Squads:

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Smriti Mandhana (VC), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Dayalan Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajana Sajeevan.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshika Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika Kumari