Potchenfstroom: India put their Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup campaign back on track in Group 1 Super Six stage with a commanding seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka here Sunday.
Following India’s seven-wicket defeat against Australia on Saturday, their bowlers gave a superb performance, restricting Sri Lanka Under-19 to just 59 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
Sixteen-year-old leg-spinner Parshavi Chopra was the pick of the Indian bowlers, grabbing four wickets, while left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap took two wickets as the duo ran through the opposition batting line-up.
India then scored the winning target in 7.2 overs for the loss of skipper Shafali Verma, wicket-keeper Richa Ghosh and Shweta Sehrawat.
Soumya Tiwari (28 not out) then smashed five boundaries off just 15 deliveries as India made a mockery of the paltry total.
Earlier India, after winning the toss, elected to bowl first and met with immediate success when seamer Titas Sandhu, who plays for Bengal, got Nethmi Senarathna in thee first ball.
The spinners took charge quickly and within no time Sri Lanka were charmed by their spell, with only captain Vishmi Gunaratne (25) and Umaya Rathnayake (13) managing to score in double digits.
The accuracy of the bowlers can be gauged from the fact that only one run was given away by way of extras. Bowling a tight line, the Indian bowlers didn’t give any room to their opponents to play their strokes freely, and only three boundaries came during the the course of the Sri Lanka innings.
Opener and a member of the India senior team, Shafali, following her forgettable innings against Australia Saturday where she scored eight runs, could have used the opportunity against Sri Lanka on Sunday to strike form.
But the 18-year-old managed just 15 before she was trapped in front by off-spinner Dewmi Vihanga, who claimed all three Indian wickets.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka Women U-19 59 for 9 in 20 overs (Vishmi Gunaratne 25; Parshavi Chopra 4/5, Mannat Kashyap 2/16) lost to India 60 for 3 in 7.2 overs (Soumya Tiwari 28; Dewmi Vihanga 3/34) by 7 wickets.
PTI