DAMBULLA: Indian middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues scored a gritty 36 before the bowlers wreaked havoc over the Sri Lankan batting line-up to power their side to seal the victory in a low-scoring first T20I.

In the first Women’s T20 International of the three-match series between India and Sri Lanka, the touring side defended 139 runs as they edged past the latter by 34 runs.

Set to chase a mere 139 in 20 overs, the Indian bowling attack completely dominated the hosts’ batters and restricted them to 104/5 in the allotted 20 overs.

The home side started off poorly as they lost three quick wickets for a mere 27 runs in the seventh over. Kavisha Dilhari then anchored the run chase with her gritty but remained a touch too slow in the proceedings.

Dilhari remained unbeaten with her 47 off 49 balls and scored six boundaries, while the rest of the batters failed to contribute significantly in the run chase.

For India, Radha Yadav led the way with two wickets for a mere 22 runs, while Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, and Shafali Verma made one scalp each.

Batting first, the Indian Women’s side avoided the early wobble as they managed to post 138/6 in the 20 overs. The middle-order batter Rodrigues was their key player in doing so as she raced up the total with her blistering knock at the death.

The right-handed batter remained unbeaten with her valiant 36 off just 27 balls with the help of three boundaries and a six. The opening batter Shafali, on the other hand, followed back with run-a-ball 31.

For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranaweera shone with three wickets, while Oshadi Ranasinghe picked two. Chamari Athapaththu, on the other hand, struck out a batter.

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