XtraTime Web Desk: Teenage star Jemimah Rodrigues’ second career fifty, in only her 12th Twenty20 International, led India to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third match of their five-game series.
Rodrigues, who had starred with a spectacular 15-ball 36 in the first match, kept the big hits coming to smash 57 off 40 in Colombo on Saturday, 22 September.
She held the batting together after the bowlers restricted the hosts to 131/8 in their 20 overs. India completed the chase with 10 balls to spare.
Put in, Sri Lanka were pegged back to 31/2 in the Powerplay. Chamari Athapaththu, the captain and opener, struck three fours and a six, trying to counter the Indians with sweeps, but fell for 28 off 32 holing out to the deep.
The experienced Shashikala Siriwardene struck a useful 35 off 32 balls, including one six, before she handed wicket-keeper Taniya Bhatia a high catch off the bowling of Arundhati Reddy, the pacer.
Nilakshi de Silva chipped in with 31 off 20, including a straight six over the bowler’s head.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s two wickets in her only over, the 19th, denied Sri Lanka a late flurry, while Reddy finished with 2/19.
India were rocked early, reduced to 38/2 with both their openers back in the hut. Rodrigues, though, was unperturbed, bossing the chase.
She found a steady partner in Kaur (24 off 19) and went on to bring up her fifty with her second six of the day.
“I knew I had to stay there till the end, but at the same time take calculated risks,” she told Women’s CricZone after the match. “That was my game plan. When [Kaur] came to the middle, our talks in the middle was just to build the partnership, six balls, six singles, and the loose ball is our bonus. Our staying there was more important.”
The settled duo both fell in the 16th over to Athapaththu, but with the score 113 by then, Veda Krishnamurthy and Anuja Patil simply had to hold their nerve.
The fourth match will be on 24 September in Colombo.