IND-W vs SL-W: World Champions India Crush Sri Lanka with 8-Wicket Win

Udaipur, Dec 22, 2025: Jemimah Rodrigues continued her good form from the Women’s ODI World Cup and scored an unbeaten half-century as India defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first match of the five-match T20I series in Visakhapatnam. With this win, India took a 1–0 lead in the series.

The Indian bowlers did a great job and restricted Sri Lanka to just 121/6 in 20 overs. After that, Jemimah, who had earlier scored a century to help India reach the World Cup final, played another strong innings. She scored an unbeaten 69 off 44 balls on Sunday and guided India to 122/2. India won the match with 32 balls remaining.

Jemimah reached her fifty in 34 balls and hit 10 fours. She also shared two important partnerships. She added 54 runs with Smriti Mandhana and then put on 55 runs with captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Smriti Mandhana’s Record and India’s Bowling Effort

Smriti Mandhana scored 25 runs in this match and created history. She became the first Indian and the second player overall to score 4,000 runs in women’s T20I cricket. New Zealand’s Suzie Bates is still on top with 4,716 runs.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur played her first match after winning the Women’s ODI World Cup in Navi Mumbai. She won the toss and chose to field first. The Indian bowlers did well and kept Sri Lanka under pressure. However, India’s fielding was not up to the mark, with several dropped catches and misfields. The team also found it hard to adjust to the T20 format after a long break.

Sri Lanka struggled in the shorter format. Captain Chamari Athapaththu scored only 15 runs off 12 balls, and the team managed just 31/1 in the powerplay. Kranti Goud took her first women’s T20I wicket by clean bowling Chamari. Debutant spinner Vaishnavi Sharma bowled tightly and gave away only 16 runs in four overs. Deepti Sharma conceded just 10 runs in three overs, while N. Sri Charani finished with figures of 1/30.

Selection Choices and Fielding Concern

Both teams came into the match with different team selections. India trusted their experienced players and kept most of the squad from their ODI World Cup-winning team. Sri Lanka picked several young players as they look for the right combination for the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026.

Despite a strong bowling show, India’s fielding remains a big concern. This problem was also seen in the ODI World Cup 2025. In this match, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side dropped at least four easy chances in Visakhapatnam. This is an area the team management must fix soon, especially with the T20 World Cup only six months away.

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