India impress to beat Sri Lanka in World Cup opener

Guwahati ICC Women’s World Cup

India 269-8 (47 overs): Amanjot 57 (56), Ranaweera 4-46

Sri Lanka 211 (45.4 overs): Athapaththu 43 (47), Sharma 3-54

India defeated 59 runs (DLS).

In the first match of the Women’s World Cup in Guwahati, India triumphed 59 runs after a middle-order collapse.

Inoka Ranaweera, a spinner for spinner Inoka Ranaweera, took three wickets for four runs in the 26th over, causing them to fall to 1244-6.

As Sri Lanka failed to maintain their initial discipline in the field, Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma produced a match-winning partnership of 103 for the seventh wicket, with the latter dropping four times to reach 57.

As India regained from a spirited 269-8 overs, with three overs being lost due to rain delays, Sneh Rana added some late impetus with 28 from 15 balls, and Sharma fell for 53 from the final ball of the innings.

Sri Lanka made a promising start by winning 82-1 with a revised target of 271 from the same number of overs, but their progress was stalled by skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s 43-over dismissal at the end of the 15th over.

The visitors were kept in the game by Athapaththu’s second-wicket 52 run with Harshitha Samarawickrama, but they lacked India’s depth as a team and were ultimately bowled out for 211 in the 46th over.

India’s 22-person crowd, which is a record for a Women’s World Cup group game, was dominated by Sharma’s 3-54-point half-century, while Sneh Rana and Shree Charani, who were also spinners, recorded 2-32 and 2-37, respectively.

India was under no illusions that they would win the tournament, but they did so in front of their home fans, putting all the pressure on them.

Smriti Mandhana’s early departure, which was caught on the boundary for eight, set the tone for the crowd, and Sri Lanka’s disciplined bowlers kept Pratika Rawal and Harleen Deol at bay as they led 43-1 at the end of the 10-over powerplay, which was followed by the first rain delay.

The chaos began when Rawal fell for 37 out of 59 balls, but it was Deol’s departure to Ranaweera, who had softly chipped the ball for 48. Before Harmanpreet Kaur, who had attempted to guide the ball past the keeper, was caught behind three balls after the first ball, Jimih Rodrigues was bowled by a slow delivery that gripped and clipped off the stump.

Achini Kulasuriya first put Amanjot down on 19 when Richa Ghosh slammed a wide delivery from Athapaththu point from the following over, but Sri Lanka was unable to capitalize on it as Achini Kulasuriya first placed it down on 19 on the square-leg boundary.

By the time a catch was finally taken in the 44th over, Sri Lanka’s game had fallen far away. She offered three more chances of varying difficulty on 37, 50, and 53.

After that, Sharma led the charge with her outstanding all-around performance by bowling Athapaththu, and they were rarely put under pressure once she fell.

However, Sri Lanka have “definitely got more to improve.”

Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s captain, said, “It wasn’t an easy game. We are aware that every game will be demanding.

Our batters “managed well in the middle overs,” despite taking the loss of wickets. Outstanding to watch, and overall, it was a good game for us. Our girls worked together to defeat this.