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Shafali and Renuka heroics tear apart Sri Lanka as India win 3rd T20I to seal series

Kaushik Kashyap

India beat SL by 8 wickets. [Source - @bcciwomen/x]India beat SL by 8 wickets. [Source - @bcciwomen/x]

On the back of a destructive bowling spell from Renuka Thakur and a blistering half-century from Shafali Verma, India Women defeated Sri Lanka Women by eight wickets in the third T20I. The comprehensive win puts India 3-0 up in the five-match series, securing an unassailable lead.

Here, we take a look at the entire highlights of the 3rd T20I of the five-match series between India Women and Sri Lanka Women as it panned out at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, December 26.

Renuka leads India’s bowling dominance with a 4-fer

After being asked to bat first, Sri Lanka Women made a steady start with Hasini Perera finding early boundaries. However, India Women struck back swiftly as Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh got three quick wickets, reducing the visitors to 32 for 3 inside six overs.

Renuka had a tough first over but bounced back impressively, claiming two wickets in the same over to close the powerplay strongly. The rest of the Indian bowling unit maintained tight lines and lengths, ensuring Sri Lanka struggled to build momentum through the middle overs.

However, Kavisha Dilheri and Imesha Dulani did attempt to lift the scoring rate, but Deepti and Renuka returned to derail the recovery. Sri Lanka were eventually restricted to 112 for 7 in 20 overs, with Renuka starring with four wickets and Deepti finishing with an excellent 3 for 18.

Shafali’s batting brilliance strikes again

Chasing 113, India Women got off to a flying start as Shafali Verma continued her red-hot form from the last game. Smriti Mandhana got dismissed early again, but Verma powered India to 55 for 1 in the powerplay, scoring a blistering 50 off just 24 balls.

Jemimah Rodrigues found it tough to get going as well and fell after the powerplay. However, Shafali kept going, carrying her onslaught through to an unbeaten 79 off 42 balls, guiding India comfortably over the line with 40 balls in hand.