Women’s T20 World Cup: India seal 82-run victory to eliminate Sri Lanka
A collapse to 102 all out against New Zealand and then an unconvincing chase of just 105 against Pakistan had caused some concern about India’s batting line-up, which possesses plenty of power but had struggled to adapt to sluggish pitches.
But on an improved surface, where South Africa had hit 166 just hours earlier, the intimidating India top three finally made their mark.
Classy left-hander Mandhana had made scores of 12 and seven in the first two games and made a scratchy start to her knock against Sri Lanka.
But Verma took the pressure off her with positive intent, using her feet effectively to the spinners as she targeted them down the ground and Mandhana soon followed suit, timing the ball exquisitely, with four fours and a six in her knock.
The pair fell to consecutive deliveries, with Mandhana run out by Ama Kanchana and a tired-looking Verma slicing the ball softly to cover, but Jemimah Rodrigues and Kaur were unfazed.
Rodrigues was also dropped on 13 and while that did not prove too costly, Kaur ensured that she would capitalise on her reprieve after Inoka Ranaweera put down the chance at cover.
Kaur targeted the spinners with the sweep and anything overpitched was drilled straight, with so little margin for error against her fast hands and elegant footwork.
It was a huge ask for a Sri Lanka line-up whose previous totals were just 85 and 93, and scores of 21 from Dilhari and 20 from Anushka Sanjeewani were the only contributions of note as they exited the tournament with a whimper.
In previous World Cups, India have cruised group stages before crumbling under pressure in knockouts, but this was a brutally dominant performance to suggest they could be peaking just in time.
