Jemimah Shines as India Cruises to Win Over Sri Lanka

By siliconindia  |  Monday, 22 December 2025, 11:24:21 AM IST

Jemimah Shines as India Cruises to Win Over Sri Lanka
  • India beats Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the T20I series opener with a dominant all-round performance
  • Jemimah Rodrigues anchors the chase with a fluent unbeaten half-century
  • Indian bowlers deliver a disciplined spell to restrict Sri Lanka and set up an easy chase

India began the Women’s T20I series against Sri Lanka with a dominant eight-wicket win at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Riding the momentum of their recent ODI World Cup success, the hosts delivered a complete performance with both ball and bat.

After opting to bowl first, India’s disciplined bowling attack kept Sri Lanka under pressure throughout the innings. The visitors’ hopes once again rested heavily on skipper Chamari Athapaththu, but her stay was short-lived. After hitting a couple of early boundaries, Chamari was dismissed by Kranti Gaud, whose sharp change in pace and angle earned her maiden T20I wicket.

Sri Lanka struggled to recover from that early blow. Deepti Sharma maintained control in the middle overs, while fielding lapses gave the visitors a few chances to rebuild. Harshitha Samarawickrama survived early scares and tried to anchor the innings, but regular wickets prevented Sri Lanka from gaining momentum. Vishmi Gunaratne’s late push, including the only six of the innings, came too late to change the course.

Sri Lanka eventually posted a modest total of 121, never quite threatening to challenge India.

In reply, India lost Shafali Verma early, but Jemimah Rodrigues ensured there were no further hiccups. Batting at No. 3, she played a composed yet fluent knock, rotating the strike with ease and punishing loose deliveries. Jemimah stitched key partnerships with Smriti Mandhana and later Harmanpreet Kaur to take India home comfortably.

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Jemimah finished unbeaten on 69 off 44 balls, registering her 14th T20I half-century. India chased down the target with 32 balls to spare, delighting the home crowd on a cool evening.

The performance not only gave India a strong start to the series but also strengthened Jemimah’s case as a settled No. 3 ahead of the T20 World Cup next year.

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