Anuja Patil produced a cameo with the bat to lift India Women to 130 and then struck three times with the ball to apply the chokehold on Sri Lanka Women’s chase in Ranchi. Her all-round effort sent India 1-0 up in the three-match T20 series.
Anuja struck in the first over of the chase, removing Yasoda Mendis for 8. She soon dismissed the other opener, Chamari Atapattu, for a seven-ball duck. Shikha Pandey, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Deepti Sharma all built on the early strikes and ensured that Sri Lanka were limited to 96 for 7 in 20 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Dilani Manodara made the only score of note – 41 off 44 balls. The next-best score was captain Shashikala Siriwardene’s 18 off 29 balls. Each of India’s bowlers boasted an economy rate of under 5.80. Anuja finished with career-best figures of 3 for 14.
Earlier in the day, India’s top order stuttered as well as the hosts were reduced to 15 for 2 within four overs. But the innings was stabilised by thirties from Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur. Anuja, coming in at No.6, hit three fours during her 17-ball 22 to provide the final flourish.
Left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari, who accounted for the top three, was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka. However, it only offered scant consolation for the visitors.
